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OKLAHOMADepartment of Human Services
Child and Family Services Plan 2010-2014
2011 Annual Progress and Services Report
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program (Title IV-B, Subpart 1), Promoting Safe & Stable Families (Title IV-B, Subpart 2)
June 30, 2011
Revised August 31, 2011
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction4
OKDHS Organizational Structure14
Stakeholder Participation in CFSP16
Oklahoma Vision for Child Welfare Services17
OKDHS Practice Standards17
OKDHS Practice Model17
Service Improvement Goals and Objectives34
Strategies and Steps Influencing Systemic Factors42
Child and Family Services Continuum48
Service Description50
Coordination with Tribes52
Health Care Services Plan61
Disaster Plans65
Monthly Caseworker Visits68
Adoption Incentive Payments75
Staff Training75
Evaluation and Technical Assistance75
Quality Assurance System78
Statistical and Supporting Information80
Financial Information 81
Title IV-B Child and Family Services Plan Assurances (Attachment A)82
State Chief Executive Officer’s Assurance Statement85
Chafee Foster Care Independence Education and Training Vouchers Program (Attachment B)86
Chief Executive Officer’s Certifications for the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program115
Chief Executive Officer’s Certification for the Education and Training Voucher Program117
CFCIP Funds118
FY 2012 ETV Program Request for Funds119
Child Welfare Training Plan (Attachment C)120
Resource Recruitment and Retention Goals, Objectives and Strategies (Attachment D)145
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TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.)
OKDHS Organizational Structure (Attachment E)151
Breakthrough Series Collaboration news article (Attachment F)152
3INTRODUCTION
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) is the state agency designated to administer Title IV-B and IV-E programs, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), and the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. OKDHS was established by the state legislature in 1936 and is an umbrella agency, which currently includes the following state programs: Children and Family Services (Child Welfare), Family Support Services (TANF, Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Developmental Disabilities Services, Child Care Licensing, Child Support Enforcement, and Aging Services. Services are provided statewide through offices serving all 77 counties.
Update
Oklahoma has been through many changes within the last year and has experienced some uncertainty concerning the Agency’s budget. Oklahoma along with the Nation is experiencing economic shortfalls. OKDHS along with other state entities and agencies have experienced budget reductions due to revenue deficit. However, in the midst of these challenges, OKDHS continues to fulfill the OKDHS mission: “To help individuals and families in need help themselves lead safer, healthier, more independent and productive lives.” The following provides examples of these efforts.
Quality Award: The Oklahoma Department of Human Services was one of only five organizations in Oklahoma that received a 2010 Oklahoma Quality Award on Dec. 9, 2010. The awards are presented to organizations that demonstrate high standards of excellence worthy of recognition in Oklahoma. OKDHS received an Oklahoma Quality Award for Achievement. "These are all excellent Oklahoma organizations," Gov. Brad Henry said. "They represent the best of Oklahoma and we are proud to recognize them. Organizations must be flexible and innovative if they are to thrive in the highly competitive and changing marketplace of the 21st century and these award winners exemplify that approach.”
OKDHS is the first state agency to ever win the Achievement Award. This is an advanced level for organizations that have demonstrated, through their commitment and application of continuous improvement principles, significant progress in building sound processes and in achieving improvement results. Seven criteria for the Oklahoma Quality Award support the goals of delivering ever-improving value to customers and improving overall operational performance of the organization. The criteria are: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results.
Participation in Quality Awards recognizes employees for their work, while also helping OKDHS develop performance improvement practices. OKDHS submitted a written application, which was reviewed by examiners, who verified and clarified issues at a site visit and then provided written feedback. In the face of increasing demand for services and declining state revenues, OKDHS has implemented process and procedural improvements, said Mike Strong of the Oklahoma Quality Awards Foundation. The use of comparative and competitive data has increased effectiveness within the agency and garnered national recognition. 2010 marked the 16th year of the Oklahoma Quality Awards, administered by the Oklahoma Quality Award Foundation, Inc.
Director Honored: Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Director Howard Hendrick was honored in April, 2011 with a national award by the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). The group presented Hendrick the distinguished “Appreciation of Service” award at their Spring Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. Hendrick is the longest-serving state human services CEO in
4the country.
“Howard is truly a leader in the Human Services field and his contributions to APHSA have been invaluable,” said Tracy L. Wareing, APHSA Executive Director. “As President, he led our association through a critical period of transition, and as a long-time member, he continues to provide us with direction and expert counsel.”
Hendrick served as president of the APHSA Board of Directors from January 2009, until December 2010. Hendrick continues to be an active member of APHSA -- most recently speaking at the group’s Spring Policy Forum on a panel that provided advice to the many newly-appointed state directors from around the country in human services, health and child services.
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA): Oklahoma applied for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) in the nonprofit category in 2010. Although OKDHS did not receive the MBNQA award, a valuable Feedback Report was received addressing areas of excellence and opportunities for improvement. Beginning June 2011, OKDHS staff will embrace the opportunity to work with a Balridge consultant to help assure OKDHS is designed for excellence using the Baldrige Framework and is positioned for a future application. This work will include looking at evidence-based excellence strategies for performance excellence in an effort to determine the essential systems for OKDHS and the level of readiness of these systems. These efforts will help to build a foundation for a sustainable journey in quality improvement.
211 Oklahoma - 2-1-1 Oklahoma has drawn national attention. On a limited budget, Oklahoma is still recognized as a national leader. 2-1-1 helps Oklahomans maintain self-sufficiency and links most callers to non-profit and faith-based organizations who, in turn, offer assistance with food, clothing, housing, health care, transportation, income support, government services, legal assistance, consumer concerns, public safety and disaster response, among other issues. Connecting Oklahomans with important services and volunteer opportunities, 2-1-1 Oklahoma is an easy-to-remember telephone number, providing free and confidential service 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.
Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) – Tulsa – A unit within Tulsa Co. Child Welfare and mental health partners, Family and Children’s Services, applied and were accepted into a BSC focused on trauma and placement stability. As a part of the CORE team, both the Area Director and the Director of the Children and Family Services Division participated. This BSC ties in with the Chadwick Trauma Informed Systems Project (CTISP) and involves a pilot where OKDHS is working to improve placement stability through a series of trauma related services and interventions. The pilot will provide valuable information as OKDHS creates our state plan (more details in the CTISP section). The final session for this BSC was held June 8 and 9, 2011 and the projected timeline for completion of this BSC is October, 2011.
The differences noticed due to OKDHS involvement in this BSC process is once a trauma lens is developed, this is not something you can take off and ignore. This lens has an impact on the staff’s perspective of themselves, the child, the family, the CW and mental health systems and the world. When an understanding is obtaining regarding the real reason a person or child has certain behaviors and reactions, a huge difference in is made in how effective the CW or mental health staff can be on a case.
The first specific area that has been impacted is the stability of the children on the line worker’s case load, which is the target population. Placements have stabilized on the CW worker’s caseload and placement disruptions have decreased for the other workers in this unit due to spread of knowledge. This is believed to be due link between the workers developing a more comprehensive approach to trauma and beginning to understand how trauma is a thread throughout the process. The community providers have noticed that
5workers are now specifically asking for Evidence Based Practices such as Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Parent Child Interactive Therapy. The second area of impact is one at the state level. The state is moving forward with implementing trauma language into the Practice Model in each area of Child Welfare, from Child Protection Units to Adoption Units.
At the state level, a trauma screening is being considered for statewide use in Child Welfare. At the local level the Day to Day manager has made some structural changes to the Resource Units, giving them more opportunity to meet the needs of the children and resource parents. This was achieved by placing the kinship foster care units and the kinship bridge navigation unit under the administration of the CPS (Child Protection Services) local manager, insuring that the trauma lens is focused on the needs of the child, biological parents and the resource parent at the beginning of the case. The CPS local manager is also on the extended team. The Resource Supervisor is working with the other resource supervisors to help Foster Parents be trauma informed and trained on trauma. The supervisor of the worker, whose caseload is the target population, is on the extended team and does not plan to stop just because the project ends. He plans to continue to look for ways he can help reduce trauma, help his workers continue to learn about trauma, implement trauma focused intervention into case practice through use of the trauma screenings for children and using their trauma knowledge to make a difference in their daily work with children and their parents. The trauma administrator and trauma clinicians will continue to consult and provide information about trauma and will support OKDHS as they spread what they have learned. Overall support and commitment is high to finish what has been started by the BSC project.
Casey’s CPS Assessment of CPS and Safety Planning – Casey Family Programs are reviewing all the CPS policy, protocols, training materials and visiting with CPS staff about implementation. Casey Family Programs will make recommendations for enhancements if needed.
Initial discussions indicate the policy, training and protocols are on target, but there are some recommendations for enhancements. CFSD program staff will be enhancing the guidance based on the Casey feedback. Casey Family Programs subject matter experts spoke at the CW Supervisors’ Meeting on June 14th and 15th, 2011.
Chadwick Trauma Informed Systems Project – Oklahoma was selected as one of three sites in the nation to become a trauma informed system. This project seeks to move OK’s CW system forward in recognizing, treating and preventing additional trauma to children, families and child welfare staff. The assessment of our current system was initiated in December 2010 and the final assessment was received in May, 2011. The assessment included three main data sources. These sources were:
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Observations from Site Visits and Meetings with Staff and Stakeholders – Observations were collected from multiple meetings, interviews, and focus groups that were conducted with child welfare staff and leadership, as well as meetings with multiple stakeholders across the state of Oklahoma.
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Trauma System Readiness Tool (TSRT) - The TSRT is a 159-question tool designed to be completed by child welfare line workers, supervisors, and administrators. It assesses multiple domains, such as trauma training and education of child welfare staff, practices related to working with birth parents and resource parents, and how the system addresses secondary/vicarious trauma. Participants were asked to rate questions on a five-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). Sixty-six OKDHS staff members (mostly line workers and supervisors) from across the state of Oklahoma participated in the TSRT. Fifty-five child welfare staff members completed the entire tool, while 11 staff members partially completed the tool.
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Focus Groups – A total of seven focus groups were conducted with the following groups:
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Child welfare supervisors
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Child welfare line workers
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Mental health providers
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Youth alumni of care
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Resource parents
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Birth parents
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Tribal partners.
After the observations were made while conducting the site visits, data analysis began by focusing on the results from the TSRT and identifying common areas and themes that arose from child welfare line worker and supervisor respondents. Following that analysis, information from the focus groups was integrated into the findings. The focus group information has been organized in two ways: 1) Broad areas or ideas that were identified across multiple focus groups (at least 5 out of 7 focus groups mentioned this topic); and 2) Specific areas or ideas that emerged as issues or topics particularly relevant to one or two focus groups. Information gathered from child welfare staff (line workers and supervisors) will be presented first, organized by strengths and barriers, followed by findings shared within the stakeholder groups (family and youth members, mental health providers, and tribal partners). This document concludes with a discussion regarding the strengths and barriers that emerged continuously throughout the assessment, followed by recommendations for the future and next steps.
Observations from Site Visits and Meetings with Staff and Stakeholders
The following observations were made during site visits and while conducting focus groups with consumers and key stakeholders across the State of Oklahoma:
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High-level of staff enthusiasm and hunger for knowledge and growth
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High level of support from Director of Human Services (Howard Hendrick)
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Many community partnerships, including Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Court Improvement Project
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OKDHS’ Partnership with Oklahoma University’s Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and Family and Children’s Services (part of the NCTSN)
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Pilot program – Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) Training for Therapeutic Foster Care and group home providers
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START Program – adaptation of Sanctuary, trauma training for group home staff
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Transformation Grant – Department of Mental Health (DMH) will focus on Adult Trauma and Treatment
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Many therapists in Tulsa and Oklahoma City have been trained in TF-CBT and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
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Project SafeCare – home-based prevention program for high-risk families
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Dolores Bigfoot and Indian Country Child Trauma Center – training on culturally adapted trauma treatment for American Indian children and families available
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Lack of resources and therapists for tribal children involved in the child welfare system reported by tribal partner
After the assessment, OKDHS will create a state plan for improving services and enhancing the practice model as needed. The plan is to review each component of the Practice Model and our current practice to see if there is a need to enhance that component to be more in line with research and practice related to treating trauma. Project runs through September 2013.
Next Steps:
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Chadwick Center subject matter experts will present at the CW Supervisor meeting (June 2011) and the Judicial Summit (August 2011).
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The steering committee/work group will review the state assessment and begin preparing the state plan.
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FOD purchased a book titled “Traumatic Experience and the Brain” for every child welfare staff that can serve as a foundation. This book has been shipped to most county offices.
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A 2-day Train the Trainers is scheduled for August 2011 for the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit. A train-the-trainer approach will be used and year long plan to roll out the training statewide.
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As part of the state plan, OKDHS may provide follow-up training videos for each component of the practice model to show how that particular component can assist with recognizing, treating and preventing additional trauma.
Chapin Hall Data Center – OKDHS has made the decision to join the data center through Chapin Hall. This will provide for improved data analysis through longitudinal data and an easy to use dashboard. CFSD is working with Chapin Hall on a contract. After the contract is in place, data will be available to review within approx. 90-120 days. Chapin Hall will come on site and train staff in how to use the information. This training will be hosted by Casey Family Programs.
CORE Training Changes (effective July 1) – A new approach to CORE Training was created. Training staff has re-created the scenarios used in training and have adjusted their training approach to be more focused on skill building. Program Manager presented at HSC and CW Leadership Meeting which includes both program and field staff. This model will be introduced during Child Welfare Supervisor Quarterly Meetings held in each OKDHS geographic area. (July – September).
Evaluation of the Practice Model – Casey Family Program is assisting with developing an evaluation plan for the OKDHS practice model. OKDHS is in the initial phase of developing this evaluation with the Casey consultant. Outcomes data and reports that are already being used that may be incorporated in the evaluation, i.e., substantiation rates, placement stability, CFSRs, repeat maltreatment are being reviewed. In conjunction with this outcome evaluation, an additional process evaluation will be explored to discover treatment fidelity regarding implementation of the practice model components (AOCS, transfer meetings, FFA, and FTM).
Faith Based and Community Initiatives:
The 8046 CAMPAIGN is a statewide effort named for the number of Oklahoma children in state custody on January 2, 2011. The Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives has partnered with Oklahoma Department of Human Services, private business as well as area foster care and adoption ministries to recruit Bridge foster families across the state through the 111 project.
The 111 PROJECT luncheon (formerly Change a Child’s Forever Community Gathering) for Metro Oklahoma City will be held on June 28th at First Baptist Church Moore. The goal of the 111 Project is 1 church, recruiting 1 family with 1 purpose in partnership with the 8046 statewide initiative. Discussion topics will include: Integrating foster care ministry into your congregation; helping children in state custody; and recruiting and supporting (Bridge) foster families.
Family Expectations – Family Expectations is one of eight sites nationwide participating in the large scale national evaluation of Building Strong Families, a federally funded study of programs for unmarried families. The program model is designed to improve family outcomes and child well-being by teaching unmarried parents in couple relationships how to communicate better, resolve conflicts constructively and develop stronger, healthier and long-lasting relationships.
8A large, rigorous federal study of effectiveness released in August of 2010 showed that unmarried parents giving birth to a child benefited in numerous ways from their participation in the Oklahoma City-based service. As part of a groundbreaking national study called Building Strong Families (BSF), couples who participated in Oklahoma’s Family Expectations program were more likely to stay together, reported higher quality relationships and had fathers who were more likely to remain involved with their children as compared to the control group. In addition to helping hundreds of Oklahoma families, Family Expectations promises to impact national human services policy due to the strength of the findings from the study on the Oklahoma program. The Family Expectations program offers public policy leaders committed to strengthening vulnerable families a new strategy and fresh encouragement that low-income families can be substantially aided in achieving their own aspirations for stability and happiness.
Parents participating in Family Expectations were offered access to this new, innovative program designed to provide support to financially vulnerable families during a key life transition: birth. Each received 30 hours of relationship education and parenting information in a group setting, with 75 percent of the parents beginning their workshops during pregnancy. The remaining couples joined the program prior to their child reaching three months of age. Parents also were provided access to ancillary activities designed to reinforce curriculum concepts, continue their education on a wide range of topics and facilitate the development of social bonds within their peer group. Finally, each couple was provided a Family Support Coordinator to meet in one-on-one sessions designed to reinforce the curriculum and address other family needs through referrals. While both married and unmarried couples participate in Family Expectations, only the unmarried couples are involved in the BSF study. (The married couples are in another study: Supporting Healthy Marriages.)
Mathematica Policy Research, one of the nation’s most respected human services research firms, completed the research report: 15-Month Impacts of Oklahoma’s Family Expectations Program. The report includes findings that demonstrate a consistent pattern of positive impacts across a range of outcomes for couples participating in Family Expectations. This rigorous, random assignment study found that positive impacts of Family Expectations were especially strong among African American couples.
The findings demonstrate that the Family Expectations model works. The strength and rigor of the procedures employed in Oklahoma make it possible for other states and organizations to replicate the model. Because the research used a random assignment methodology and a very diverse sample of couples who usually do not have access to such services, the results offer a great deal of support to the belief that vulnerable new families can be strengthened at a critical time of transition.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services partnered with the federal government in this research effort from inception. Family Expectations served 503 Oklahoma City couples during the study period from June 2006 through March 2008. Participating couples received up to 30 hours of relationship education in the core curriculum, plus numerous additional educational opportunities.
Family Expectations began participating in the BSF research study in June 2006, and the last couple entered the research sample in February 2008. Just more than 1,000 couples are included in the Oklahoma research sample (approximately half were randomly assigned to receive the Family Expectations program and half were randomly assigned to a control group that was followed over time, but did not receive Family Expectations). The impact results were long-coming as the research follow-up data was not collected until the parents reached the 15-month mark following intake into the program.
Franklin Covey’s 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) – The 4 Disciplines of Execution is a process that provides the tools, methodology, and mindset to produce superb results on an organization’s most
9important goals. A goal with significant consequence and value is referred to as a Wildly Important Goal (WIG). This initiative will focus the agency on specific child welfare WIGs related to safety and permanency. The 4 Disciplines of Execution process was launched in May, 2011. Each county and program has selected lead measures to help achieve county WIGs that are predicted to have a positive effect on achieving the agency WIGs.
Improving Internal Communication – CFSD and FOD both recognize the importance of improving internal communication between divisions and have asked for Clarus Consulting to assist with improving communication across and through the divisions. OKDHS has been participating in a series of focus groups with all levels of both divisions. Upon completion of these focus groups, Clarus Consulting will provide OKDHS with recommendations as to improvement in internal communication.
IV-E Enhancements – CFSD and FOD have been discussing the possibility of creating a centralized approach to IV-E in order to improve the eligibility process and possibly the saturation rate, which would have a significant impact on the amount of federal dollars. If the decision is made not to centralize, OKDHS still plans to work on updating the guidance and accountability of the process. An initial step that is in progress is towards getting all court orders into the KIDS (SACWIS) system.
Joshua’s List -An on-line child care restricted registry was made available to the public on July 1, 2010, as mandated by a law passed during the 2009 legislative session. Under HB 2643, the Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Licensing Act, OKDHS has established and will maintain an online database of individuals restricted from working or residing in a child care facility. OCCS established the procedure for recording persons who have confirmed abuse or neglect in a child care facility; a revocation or denial of a facility license; or a specified criminal history. The legislation expanded the use of emergency orders to close any unlicensed child care facility operating in Oklahoma that is not in compliance with mandated child care licensing requirements. The law also required OKDHS post childcare inspection records online.
Leadership Academy for Middle Managers – LAMM -Three staff from OKDHS, Annette Burleigh, Programs Manager for Therapeutic Foster Care and Developmental Disability Services, Eugene Gissandaner, Assistant County Director in Oklahoma Co., and Tricia Howell, Programs Manager for Permanency Planning, participated in the Leadership Academy for Middle Managers (LAMM). LAMM is a national training program for middle managers who work in public and tribal child welfare systems and in private agencies that provide services traditionally provided by state child welfare agencies in 2010 and 2011. Like the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute of which it is a part, the LAMM seeks to build the capacity of the nation’s child welfare workforce to improve outcomes for children, youth and families.
The change and innovation effort Annette Burleigh supported in leadership centered on the identification of needed steps, development of a plan, and continued progress toward a Trauma Informed Child Welfare System. The change effort began prior to the LAMM training when the TFC Section implemented a
10Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) pilot for Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC) and Group Home therapists. This effort was one of several steps in moving Child Welfare services at OKDHS to becoming Trauma Informed. The intent in the identification and development of the pilot was that by increasing the number of therapists trained in TF-CBT would lead to better services and outcomes for our children.
The TF-CBT pilot focused on improving the clinical services being provided to our children specifically those receiving behavioral health services and moving those services to a higher level of effectiveness. Given that, many of the TFC agencies employ entry-level therapists with little practice experience and frequently limited life experience the training provided therapists with specific tools for use with children as well as skills for use of the tools. Agencies identified for the pilot began to evaluate their systems for embedded trauma with a goal of the TFC agency work to change systems as needed to reduce trauma for children served by those agencies. The therapists trained were to implement uniform assessment tools as a part of the pilot. Programmatic changes were identified. Implementation of the pilot was particularly exciting as it was accomplished with existing funding through a joint effort with Children and Family Services, Office of Child Care-Licensing, Oklahoma Health Care Authority (our state Medicaid funding agency), National Resource Center for Youth Services (NRC), and Oklahoma Health Sciences Center-Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. The pilot consisted of three days intensive training, weekly follow up consultation calls, and a follow up intensive training
The change initiative for our larger agency was propelled with Oklahoma’s selection as one of three Laboratory Sites for the Chadwick Trauma Informed Systems Project. This effort is to support Oklahoma’s transition to a Trauma Informed Child Welfare System. Work with the pilot is already leading to the identification of needs for much larger system change and support, including work with OKDHS staff, with the foster parents, with providers, and with the court. These efforts are currently in process. The LAMM training provided Ms. Burleigh with additional skills for partnering with The Chadwick Center during the assessment phase and in building on the stakeholder group as a resource for helping to develop the state plan.
Oklahoma County Assistant County Director, Eugene Gissandaner’s change initiative was to open the Building Bridges Visitation Center (BBVC) and ensure implementation of practice, procedures, applicable policy and standards necessary to conduct intentional visitation between parents and their children. The goal of the BBVC is to strengthen families through consistent visitation, provide support to enable positive parent and child interactions, maintain continuity of family relationships, help families prepare for reunification, and improve the emotional well-being of children.
The BBVC opened on 1/18/11 and has facilitated visitation for an average of 8-9 families per week involving an average of 19-20 children. The open house was held on 4/26/11 and went quite well. Several members of the commission, OKDHS, community partners and stakeholders attended. The LAMM training was very helpful in guiding Mr. Gissandaner through the leadership processes needed to be successful in the implementation of this change initiative. Utilizing leadership strengths as well as strengths of relevant others involved was a big emphasis in the training.
The change initiative Tricia Howell selected was behaviorally based case planning. The conference assisted OKDHS in identifying the need for technical assistance to move this initiative forward. The information gained through the peer network that was developed, as well as the curriculum that was presented during the conference, was very helpful in this work.
Oklahoma Child Care - A report from a national child advocacy group, National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, ranked Oklahoma number one in the nation when it comes to overseeing the state’s child care centers. “We Can Do Better: 2011 Update, a third in a series of reports
11that scores and ranks the states, including the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense (DoD) on 10 program requirements and five oversight benchmarks for child care centers. NACCRRA’s update found that states have made progress but more progress is needed. The “Oversight” category saw Oklahoma ranked number one, receiving 48 out of a total 50 points. When the same report was issued two years ago, Oklahoma was tied for third place with Tennessee. The report gives areas for improvement, including increased education and training for child care center staffers, as well as using fingerprints to check an applicant’s background for any criminal activity. Combined with both Regulation and Oversight, Oklahoma placed second.
Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS) – OCCS set a new caseload record in April 2011. The ending caseload in April was 200,240, topping 200,000 for the first time in the OKDHS division’s history. There are 222,740 children in this record-setting caseload. In federal fiscal year 2010, OCSS distributed more than $300 million in child support collections, also an Oklahoma record.
Reliable child support helps a family achieve and sustain financial stability, easing the custodial parent’s worries about financial issues and reducing the family’s long-term need for other kinds of state assistance. OCSS is number two in the nation in collections growth over the last 10 years.
Eligibility for some OKDHS programs requires parents to seek child support from the non-custodial parent. Others open cases with OCSS for a variety of reasons, including access to its enforcement remedies -- like wage assignment and tax refund intercepts -- or for the peace of mind that clear monitoring and documentation can provide to avoid the “he said, she said” when determining amounts owed.
Unlike most state assistance programs, there are no income-based eligibility requirements for child support services. Either parent may apply to open a current support case.
Research shows that children who receive financial support from both parents do better in school and have improved development over those who don’t. Parents who pay child support regularly are also shown to be more involved with their children, providing them with emotional as well as financial support.
Paternity Establishment -Oklahoma had the highest Statewide Paternity Establishment Performance Measure (Statewide PEP) of all the states in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 and was # 2 in 2009 The following is Oklahoma’s performance since 2005: 2005: 112%. 2006: 122%, 2007: 119%, 2008: 110%, 2009: 108%, and 2010: 107%. The first year this performance measure was used by all states was FFY 2000. Since that time, Oklahoma has improved by 32%, moving from 81% in 2000 to 107% in 2010. The nationwide average Statewide PEP for the same period was a decrease of 5%.
Permanency Roundtables – In early 2011, OKDHS began an initiative with Casey Family Programs to move children to permanency. This involved the implementation of the Permanency Roundtable process created by Casey Family Programs. Permanency Roundtables (PRTs) are structured professional case consultations with a threefold purpose:
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To develop an aggressive, innovative action plan that will move the subject child or sibling group toward legal permanence and positive permanent connections;
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To provide case-centered “learning labs” for staff knowledge and skills development; and
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To identify recurring practice and systemic barriers to the attainment of permanency.
To date, 131 children were reviewed in Round 1 (March – May). The plan is to continue to implement PRTs in all six of the OKDHS geographic areas. During Round 2 (July – October), OKDHS will review 6 cases per Area per month. Permanency Field Liaisons are taking a more active role in coordinating and
12facilitating during Round 2 and are responsible for follow-up. CFSD designated a state-wide program person to support the effort. Additional training will be provided to child welfare staff, Core team members and legal community (Fall). OKDHS is developing a method by which to evaluate the effectiveness of the process.
Presenting with Purpose - Presenting with Purpose is a collaboration between the OKDHS and the National Resource Center for Youth Services (NRCYS) and alumni youth. Within the NRCYS three contracts have participated in this collaboration: Oklahoma Independent Living (OKIL), Resource Family Training (RFT) and the National Resource Center for Youth Development (NRCYD). Initially, Tulsa County OKDHS worked with NRCYS to assist with preparing youth to participate on youth panels during the RFT trainings for new foster parents. What has evolved from this collaboration is a training to assist youth with strategically sharing their stories on both personal and professional levels.
A pilot entitled Youth Panel Orientation Training was held in Tulsa County on October 21, 2010 for 35 youth and adult participants. The pilot was facilitated by an RFT Staff person and an alumni youth. This pilot proved to be valuable as the alumni youth were able to provide and interpret information that was understood by the youth participants. Through feedback from the participants and planning committee, changes were made which included: identified tools of strategic sharing, defined the role for the supportive adult, emphasized demonstrating and utilizing the preparation, practice, and added a debrief after each presentation. These changes accentuated the need for youth adult partnerships and importance of always having a purpose for sharing. During this time, NRCYD joined the collaboration and provided the Strategic Sharing toolkit that was being developed by NRCYD and Foster Club. This toolkit became an integral part of the training as the toolkit summarized the efforts made by the planning committee.
Another major development from the initial pilot and collaboration with NRCYD was establishing name of Presenting with Purpose (PWP) as the name of the training. This title was based on a comment from one of the alumni youth for the need to always have a purpose for sharing. PWP is an opportunity for youth presenters to build their skills and increase their professionalism. Goals of PWP include: know how to develop a strategic plan for sharing their story, understand the importance of planning for and debriefing their experience in a presentation, and be able to identify how they can share their story to make a difference. In an effort to make PWP more marketable to youth, an alumni youth suggested the creation of the SWAG nation. SWAG is a hip hop term referencing a person’s way of carrying themselves. The alumni youth suggested that SWAG would stand for Speaking With a Goal. Youth completing PWP will be a part of the SWAG Nation. A secured Facebook Group called SWAG Nation was also developed to allow youth to connect with each other and serve as an online venue to debrief their experiences. PWP also highlights how to use the tools of strategic sharing when interacting online.
The Oklahoma and Cleveland County IL County Coordinators were contacted prior to the pilot dates and given information about the intent of the training and the need to prepare youth for the pilot. This supported the adult in understanding better their role in the training. Also, the planning committee has decided to have smaller groups of participants. Pilots were held on May 23, 2011 in Oklahoma City (16 participants) and June 1, 2011 Norman (23 participants). The pilots were facilitated by an RFT Staff person and an alumni youth. Pre-Post surveys were developed and used for these pilots. For both dates, the Pre-Post surveys showed increased learning in all items evaluated. Some comments from these pilots include: “I love this because it strongly helps you build confidence.” “Good information for workers.” “Good training, I like the interaction among youth and adults.”
The PWP planning committee will hold a formal debrief of the pilots. Informal discussions after the last two PWP pilots have included the need for ongoing training in the area, how to provide this training in an online format, a possible ongoing evaluation process of the youth presenters progress, and utilization of these youth in providing training and technical assistance through the OKIL program
13Program Improvement Plan – OKDHS has completed and reported on Quarter 6 (out of 8) on our PIP. The final steps focus on community partnership boards, mediation, continuing to implement the practice model, collaborating with Tribes, court related training (Oklahoma County).
Shelter Usage Monitoring – In order to maintain a focus on the use of shelters, the Division Directors for the Field Operations Division and Children and Family Services have created a preliminary plan for monitoring shelter usage statewide. This plan requires additional documentation and accountability at all levels for children whose length of stay in shelter exceeds guidelines.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program, helps low-income individuals and families have improved access to nutritious food. Participants use an Access Oklahoma electronic benefits card, similar to an debit card, which is accepted at 2,810 retail outlets, including farmers’ markets. Altogether, 338,711 Oklahoma families participated in the program – 53,000 more than in the previous year.
2010 was a record-breaking year for SNAP. OKDHS distributed $865,699,190 in food benefits – a 46 percent increase over the previous year and double the amount distributed five years ago. Increasing the SNAP benefit distribution is important to the state’s economy. “For every dollar spent on SNAP $1.73 is generated throughout the economy.” Based on this projection, the SNAP program created $1.5 billion in economic activity for Oklahoma in 2010.
For the fourth year in a row, Oklahoma was recognized as the most outstanding state in the southwest region by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services. The average benefit is $4.27 per person per day or $1.42 per meal.
OKDHS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Child Welfare services are provided through two divisions of OKDHS, the Children and Family Services Division (CFSD) and the Field Operations Division (FOD). Both operate under the direction of the Department’s Chief Operating Officer. (See OKDHS Organizational Chart at Attachment E)
The CFSD is responsible for planning, program and policy development, training, and all other child welfare administrative and management functions at the state level. The CFSD also directly supervises adoption field staff and manages the adoption program in the counties. CFSD staff are assigned to one of the following six program units to carry out CFSD responsibilities:
Administrative Services Unit (ASU): The ASU is responsible for the basic administrative support of the division including personnel and budget, contracts, benefits, fingerprinting, coordination of services with Title XIX and Social Security, and coordination of child welfare fiscal programs with the DHS Finance Division.
Adoption Unit (AU): The AU is comprised of the Adoption and Post Adoption Services sections. Adoption Services is responsible for assisting in securing a safe, permanent home for children in the permanent custody of the Department through a comprehensive array of services that identifies, approves, matches and supports adoptive families. Post Adoption Services Section is responsible for administering financial and medical benefits, child care, Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance (ICAMA), Confidential and Intermediary Search, Reunion Registry and Paternity Registry. This section provides case management service to more than 8000 families who have finalized an adoption of a child who was in out of home placement in the State of Oklahoma.
Technology and Governance Unit (TGU): The TGU is responsible for management of Oklahoma’s SACWIS KIDS including system development and maintenance, SACWIS compliance, KIDS
14Helpdesk, KIDS application training, management reports, and web support for CFSD. In addition, the TGU serves as the CFSD representative to Oklahoma’s Enterprise application development effort as well as the OKDHS Governance Board.
Prevention, Prevention, Training and Service Unit (PPTSU): The PSTSU is comprised of the Child Protective Services, Family Centered Services, Oklahoma Children’s Services and Training sections. The unit is responsible for the policies and procedures for investigating assigned reports of alleged abuse and neglect, appeals, voluntary services for families, community home based services and statewide training of staff.
Permanency, Independence, and Continuous Quality Improvement Unit (PICQIU): The PICQIU is comprised of the Permanency Planning, Independent Living Services, and Continuous Quality Improvement sections. The unit is responsible for the policy and procedures related to services to children and families involved with OKDHS due to court intervention, independent living, and facilitating service evaluation, planning and improvement.
Resource Unit (RU): The Resource Unit develops policy and procedure; monitors; and provides training and consultation regarding Foster Care, which includes the recruitment and retention of resource parents, and higher levels of care. This unit is also responsible for training and coordination of services with the tribes; and the supervision and monitoring of two federal grants. Resource Unit staff are involved with other state agencies to assure an integrated system of health and behavioral health services for children and families, and a statewide Systems of Care program.
The primary function of FOD is to ensure local service delivery of the programs for which it is administratively responsible. For purposes of service administration, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) has divided the state into geographic areas. There is an area director assigned to each area. There is at least one Human Services Center (HSC) in each county. Metropolitan areas may have more than one HSC. A county director is responsible for each HSC and has line authority for FOD staff in that HSC. The county director reports to the area director who reports to the FOD director. Each area office has field liaisons that provide technical support to the area director and county directors. FOD staff in local HSCs administer:
•
Family Support Services;
•
Children and Family Services;
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Adult Protective Services;
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Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Coordination and Information Services;
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Voter Registration; and
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School-based Services.
STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN CFSP
Statewide Assessment Team
Placement Provider Surveys
CAPTA Group
Youth Surveys
Chaffee Group
Parent Surveys
TFC Association
State CFSR Interviews
Tribal Groups
Department of Mental Health
Foster Home Associations Group
Department of Education
Foster Parent Focus Groups
University of Oklahoma Higher Education
Court Improvement Project
OCS Provider
Practice Model Contacts
Adoptions
Legislative Audit
Teen Panels
Oklahoma Citizen’s Review Panel
15SERVICES
2010-The State of Oklahoma has included external and internal stakeholders in the development of the Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) in many different venues. The process of developing this plan began with the Statewide Assessment completed in 2007. The Statewide Assessment was developed with the input and support of external stakeholders from across the state. Many different stakeholder groups exist and have input to specific areas of the Child Welfare system. Much of the stakeholder input comes from local county offices meeting with groups to garner input on the local functioning of child welfare.
Tribal input is important to the success of the CFSP. Specific tribal groups have been established to enhance the communication and coordination between the tribes and state. Tribal workers and members are included in statewide stakeholder groups.
As a part of the five year CFSP, the State of Oklahoma is planning to develop a guiding committee made up of invested external stakeholders from across the state. Guidelines will be developed for this committee to function. In addition, communication will occur with other divisions of the Department and other states to gather information on barriers and benefits of this type of approach. This group is envisioned to provide guidance and input on continued development of the Practice Model and OKDHS approach to engagement with families and the community.
Update
Collaborative partnerships that were developed include Domestic Violence Child Fatality Review Board, Child Abuse Training Coordination Project, Children’s Justice Act Board, NorthCare, Parent Assistance Center and SAFE Kids Organization.
The development of a statewide Child Welfare Stakeholder collaborative was identified as a strategy within Oklahoma’s Program Improvement Plan. During this process, major progress has been made. An already existing committee, which includes the membership desired for this collaborative, has indicated the interest and capacity to serve as the state-level community collaborative for child welfare. In addition, this collaborative has the ability to achieve state-level barrier "busting" in service array improvements. A final decision on their commitment will be made this month. In order to help inform the state-level collaboration of service array improvement needs at the local level, efforts are also being targeted at already existing local collaboratives. The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth has identified two staff members to help the local county collaboratives get the technical assistance they need to become better functioning collaboratives.
On June 17, 2011, meetings were held with external stakeholders and tribal partners. The meetings provided stakeholders an overview of Oklahoma’s APSR and preliminary findings of data measures. Discussion was centered on stakeholder needs and identifying suggestions for future dissemination of material. Suggestions focused on condensing report and providing a summary report highlighting areas rather then sending out lengthy report.
VISION FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES2010-2014
OKDHS Child Welfare services will be seen as proactive, responsive, innovative, and accountable. We will have a competent and dedicated staff that consistently includes families as partners and who are respected members of the community. The lives of children and families will be better due to Child Welfare involvement.
16OKDHS Practice Standards
In late fall 2006 the state initiated the development of a set of Practice Standards that would guide the “how” of the day-to-day practice of administrators, supervisors, and line staff in their interaction with children, youth and their families, other social workers, and the community of caregivers and providers. A cross section of agency leaders, supervisors, and line staff came together to explore their beliefs and values about this work, the “evidence” that existed in the field and the experiences of children and families involved in the system. Below is the bi-product of the Practice Standard effort.
1.
We Continually Examine our Use (Misuse) of Power, Use of Self and Personal Biases
2.
We Respect and Honor The Families We Serve
3.
We Listen to the Voice of Children
4.
We Continuously Seek to Learn Who Families Are and What They Need
5.
We Believe in the Value of “Nothing About Us Without Us”
6.
We Maintain A Childs’ Permanent Connection to Kin, Culture and Community
7.
We Conduct Our Work With Integrity At All Levels Of The Agency
The Practice Standards were well received by staff and supervisors and based on the CQI process, have become ingrained in the practice of the agency.
Following the development and yearlong implementation of the Practice Standards, the state embarked on an effort to develop a Practice Model that embeds the practice standards and specifically describes the “what” of the day-to-day work.
Practice Model
Below is a brief description of Oklahoma’s Practice Model. The Practice Model, developed in order to address the issues identified in the federal CFSR, is a culmination of the work and input received from external and internal stakeholders statewide and is the cornerstone of the Program Improvement Plan. Technical assistance was received from numerous sources, including the National Resource Center on Family Centered Practice and Permanency Planning and ACF Region VI office. OKDHS is attempting to change our culture.
Update
Lorrie Lutz was contracted to provide Technical Assistance in the form of TA calls with OKDHS Child Welfare. These TA calls began in March 2011 and ended in June 2011. The purpose of these calls were to assist staff with completing the Golden Thread that identifies and describes the specific safety threats, what behaviors need to change, services to assist the family in changing behavior and how we are going to identify change in behavior. The process of the TA call involves a host county of participants that has volunteered a case to be discussed. OKDHS child welfare FOD and CFSD staff members are notified and are able to listen on the TA call. The host county typically consists of the CPS worker and supervisor as well as the PP worker and supervisor. Prior to the TA call, Lorrie Lutz and the host county met via teleconference for 45 minutes to discuss the case and build foundation for the TA call with the OKDHS FOD and CFSD staff members. During the 1 hour TA call, Lorrie Lutz guides the host county through the Golden Thread beginning at the point of a transfer meeting to discuss the AOCS, to the FFA that the host county completed leading to the behaviorally based ISP. Exploration about intentional visitation, Bridge families and Family Team Meetings were interwoven throughout the TA call.
Lorrie Lutz’s techniques utilized during the call include exploring case information with the staff, extracting critical thinking skills from the staff as they describe decisions made throughout the case. The cases that were volunteered already have a completed AOCS, FFA and ISP’s. Lorrie Lutz focuses on the strengths of the staff members and their efforts on their case work. Areas of improvement are explored
17using critical thinking skills that are not judgmental but rather as a guide to assess other options for the families
Practice Model Guidebook
Part of the OKDHS PIP is to provide an updated version of the Practice Model Guidebook. A workgroup of CFSD staff and FOD staff have met two times to discuss guidebook updates. These updates include changes to policy, new forms and reports, as well as new updates to KIDS. The OKDHS practice standards and practice model were reviewed by a tribal workgroup. This tribal workgroup provided feedback and input to enhance cultural awareness. These suggestions were submitted to the Practice Model Steering Committee.
Centralized Hotline
The centralized hotline component of the Practice Model seeks to ensure that the state increases consistency in how the agency brings families into the system and the priority in which those families are served. The centralized hotline for implemented counties will take the referral, screen in or out and prioritize before forwarding to the local county office. The centralized hotline takes referrals for children as well as vulnerable adults.
Update
Implementation of the centralized hotline continues. The majority of the state is now being served by the centralized hotline. The remaining counties in northeast Oklahoma will be online soon. A second location at the Rogers County office, Claremore, Oklahoma has been secured to house the remaining members of the centralized hotline. This location will allow the remaining counties to be served. This second location will also provide a back up for the Oklahoma City facility should the need arise.
Assessment of Child Safety
Information is the foundation of safety assessment. To uncover and understand child safety, OKDHS child protection workers assess the pertinent areas of family life that contribute to children being safe. OKDHS understands the necessity of initiating safety assessments of children in a timely manner. The goal of OKDHS is to establish a plan to address this issue. This will include gathering current data related to the correlation between the age of the child, the seriousness of the maltreatment, and the time frame for response. Following analysis of the data that will be presented to the Human Services Centers, a plan of action will be developed. In addition to the use of the Assessment of Child Safety (AOCS) for families during the Child Protective Services process, staff utilizes this assessment for ongoing cases to assist in visitation, reunification planning and at the time of case closure ensuring child safety drives our decision making process. CW staff are also guided by policy to integrate the AOCS into the Family Team Meeting process.
Update
The CFSD, Permanency Planning staff are currently in the process of developing a workgroup of both CFSD and FOD staff to look at making adjustments to the AOCS for use in the on-going assessment of children and families. All of the Permanency Planning Core: Level 1 and 2 training sessions have been updated to offer case scenarios for staff to practice critical thinking skills in using the AOCS.
Family Team Meetings
Family Team Meetings (FTM) is planning and decision-making processes that include parents, caregivers, children, social workers, and other service providers. They may also include extended family, friends, members of community groups, and other community partners. There is value in bringing families together in the planning and decision making process. The OKDHS Practice Model requires that Family Team Meetings be held throughout the process of serving a family—case opening to case closure.
18A Family Team Meeting emphasizes the need for the family to be an integral part of the decision making process. Collaboration with relatives and individuals concerned with the identified family to discuss placement planning may improve the likelihood of identifying the best first placement for a child. Ongoing FTM will assist in continually assessing the needs of the child and placement provider.
The FTM process, when used throughout the life of a case, provides opportunities to maintain focus on achievement of permanency goals in a timely manner through continued involvement of the family, children, caregivers, social workers and service providers. The FTM process addresses the need for maintaining connections to community, extended family, culture, and tribes through engaging family members, the child, and others who are connected to the child and/or family. Family Team Meetings enhance the search process through updating the information needed to continually assess possible permanent placements and reinforce connections with community, extended family, culture, and tribes. When appropriate kinship placements are not available, Family Team Meetings are helpful in identifying alternative resources.
Family Team Meetings provide parents with enhanced opportunities to identify their individualized needs. When parents are absent, the FTM process can assist in locating them through information provided by the other members of the team.
Regular Family Team Meetings will encourage more consistent child and family engagement, strengthening the team approach between Child Welfare workers and families. Involvement in the process will empower families to impact their own success through goal directed discussions to identify the strategies needed to expedite permanency. This is done through sharing information and brainstorming to enhance the services provided to the child while in out of home care and again to expedite permanency.
An area of concern related to placement stability is multiple school enrollments. Family Team Meetings are expected to lead to more stability in placement which will provide children the opportunity to remain in the same school setting.
Update
The FTM forms have been enhanced to include a closer look at sibling placement and at efforts to place siblings together if they have been separated. A focus has been placed on the need for every child to have frequent Family Team Meetings to improve family participation in decision making. This is being supported through CFSD Permanency Planning staff contacting Child Welfare field staff when a report indicates the child/family has not had an FTM and offering to assist with planning, coordinating and facilitating an FTM.
Bridge
Bridge is a component of the Practice Model that seeks to view practice through the eyes of the child and seeks to ensure that children in care maintain connections to their kin, culture, and community while in out of home care. The goal of OKDHS is to increase the number of resource families to meet the varying needs of children who are placed in out of home care.
The definition of a Bridge Resource Family is a family who may be asked to:
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Provide temporary care, love, and nurturance to the child and serve as a mentor actively helping the parent improve their ability to safely care for his or her children.
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Stay connected and assist in the transition to reunification, legal guardianship, or adoption to another family, and/or
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Serve as the legal guardian for the child while maintaining a child’s connection to kin, culture, and community and/or
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Adopt the child while maintaining a child’s connection to kin, culture, and community.
19By definition, it is clear that the Bridge Model recruits, orients and supports traditional foster families, kin, and adoptive families. There is no distinction in approach. Oklahoma has implemented an assessment process that allows a family to be approved to provide care for children whether it is traditional foster care, kinship care or adoption. This integrated assessment includes both an initial and re-assessment tool to be utilized with all resource families to impact placement stability and time to permanency. OKDHS added a component addressing the protective capacity of resource families to the assessment guide. OKDHS will continue to evaluate the need for developing additional tools. It is anticipated that implementation of this process will reduce maltreatment in out of home care.
OKDHS received a 5-year grant in October 2008 that is funded by the Children’s Bureau. The Bridge to the Future Grant allows Oklahoma to develop and deliver innovative and comprehensive strategies for the diligent recruitment and retention of resource families within the state that reflect the needs, numbers, and characteristics of our children in care, therefore, improving outcomes for Oklahoma’s children. Bridge has several initiatives to accomplish this goal. First, a Resource Support Center was created for pre-resource and resource families. This Support Center aids in delivering a consistent message to interested and existing families, as well as offers families additional community resources and support for answering general, non-child specific questions. In tandem with the support center, we have created a web portal for families that explains Oklahoma’s Bridge family practice, lists community resources, and offers training videos in a convenient and accessible online format. Another aspect of our grant is training for both staff and resource families. An online customer service training was developed for staff that will be mandatory for all child welfare and county level staff that has contact with our customers. For resource families, the focus is on delivering five trainings that were identified as a high need through focus groups and surveys. They are: Psychotropic Medications, Trauma Informed Care, Legal, Intentional Visitation, and Handbook/Contract. Those will be developed in an online and DVD format to increase accessibility. These trainings will also be offered to staff to promote consistency of knowledge and information. To further improve our application/approval process theLean/Six Sigma methodology is being used to pilot additional, potential areas for improvement. The focus has been on communication, the home assessment process, and moving through the approval process at the pace of the family’s readiness (meaning that the plan is to increase our capacity to move families with a high level of readiness through the process as quickly as possible while ensuring that safety is not compromised). A pilot was initiated with traditional foster care and adoption in a metro county, and are currently working with kinship staff and a rural county to expand the pilot. Furthermore, community partnerships are a key component to successful recruitment and retention, and OKDHS continues to build on those partnerships. Collaborated has occurred with the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives on four Faith Based public awareness events in our two largest metropolitan areas and are piloting county specific recruitment materials delivered in faith focused and community focused formats. OKDHS is in the process of developing an Oklahoma specific recruitment and retention tool kit to be used in consultation with counties on developing localized recruitment plans with their community partners, while continuing to develop a consistent statewide plan with technical assistance from AdoptUSKids. Finally, the evaluation team continues to develop survey instruments to collect data on these initiatives as well as mine data from our KIDS database in order to track challenges as well as successes and continue to make adaptations to our efforts as needed.
From January through August 2009, questions were asked of County Directors in all areas across Oklahoma via focus groups conducted during the course of the summer. According to County Directors, the obstacles for families in not becoming foster/adoptive resources, both inside & outside of the system included exhaustive training requirements where parents feel it is unnecessary, slowness in reimbursement and stipend payments, fears of the child and/or biological family, and stringent requirements for families (e.g. number of beds, rooms, etc.). The current strengths of becoming a Bridge Resource Family expressed were: the kinship program, dual licensure processes (fostering and adoption),
20availability of general payments (to be spent on nearly anything the child/family needs), and more comprehensive forms than what was used in prior years. County Directors expressed a need for more comprehensive training for parents on topics such as “coping with grief/separation/loss,” roles of resource family, biological family, and worker, trauma-based care of children, and logistics of navigating the OKDHS system. In regards to training topics for child welfare staff, County Directors expressed a desire to train them on basic customer service and follow-up (good manners, being courteous and prompt), how to better partner with families, information on procedures and policies, and even the same trainings experiences by parents. When an after-hours help desk was suggested as a possible solution to providing better customer service County Directors thought this solution could be useful in supporting parents during the approval process, helping them locate resources within their local counties, providing status updates about applications, etc. In terms of making support groups and mentoring programs work, County Directors suggested providing logistical and financial support for these groups including incentives/prizes for attendance, food, training credits, setting up rooms/meetings, and providing guest speakers.
In July 2009, a survey was sent to current Child Welfare Specialists where 525 responses were given in regards to experiences with customer service, training, and how things are currently working for parents. Respondents indicated that the perceived obstacles limiting families from becoming resources families with OKDHS were due to being overwhelmed with the process or system (23%), personal reasons (17%), and slow reimbursement rates (14%). Training topics that would better prepare parents included: trauma-informed care of children (26%), collaborating with the biological family (18%), and how to experience transitions and role changes (13%). Topics on which Child Welfare Specialists expressed a need for additional training were: how to specifically support resource parents, clarifying roles and responsibilities, conducting initial family meetings, and how to recruit resource families. As far as effective training for Pre-Resource families is concerned, Child Welfare Specialists responded that most would probably prefer the internet, webinars, or computer-based training (34%) or workshops and classroom-based training (33%). In improving customer service, the possible functions that a centralized help-desk could provide for resource families were: support and crisis management for resource parents (25%), receiving initial inquiries and providing support during the approval process (23%), administration of and providing logistics for a formal mentoring program (22%), and performing complaint resolution (14%).
In September 2009, A survey was sent to Current Resource Parents where 156 responses were given in regards to experiences with customer service, training, and the Bridge Program philosophy. The majority of the sample included foster parents or those both fostering and adopting with OKDHS where most parents had spent less than 2 years in a relationship with the agency. Training topics that could have better prepared our parents were how to navigate the OKDHS system as well as legal training and the rights of families. Parents expressed a desire for an after-hours helpdesk (82%), support groups (57%), and mentoring programs (49%) to be provided by OKDHS. Current parents indicated that they would utilize a helpdesk and support/mentoring groups to seek information about county-level services, working through the approval process, and assistance in coping with stress and burnout. The only reservations parents expressed about a helpdesk were the reluctance to ask questions that are child-specific and better answered by a caseworker. Parents prefer computer-based training, DVDs, and small group settings for obtaining their training as resource families.
In October 2009, a survey was sent to current Pre-Resource Parents where 49 responses were given in regards to experiences in the approval process and training. The majority of the sample included those interested in becoming adoptive families (48%), non-kinship foster families (24%), with the remainder interested in kinship care, the Bridge program, and/or combinations of fostering/adoption (16%). Most Pre-Resource parents in the sample had spent more than 3 months in their attempt to become a resource
21parent (62%). Most parents within this sample contacted OKDHS to inquire about fostering or adoption by making contact with a local OKDHS office or using the OKDHS website/email.
Initial follow-up from an inquiry (either an informational packet or a phone call) took anywhere from over 1 month (12%), within 2-4 weeks (21%), within 1-2 weeks (25%), to within 1 week (31%). The training formats parents preferred were computer-based, internet/webinar sessions (18%), large and small group in-class sessions (43%), DVDs (15%), or book/guides (15%). The common strengths identified with the approval process as it stands now were the Bridge Resource Family Orientation training and other training sessions (37%), the home study process(18%), the overall explanation of the Bridge philosophy (14%), and a well-designed information packet (10%). The common weaknesses expressed in the approval process were mainly a lack of communication between OKDHS and families (27%) and families not understanding the process or timelines (18%). At present, over 60% of parents disagreed, strongly disagreed, or were neutral about being satisfied with their customer service experience in the approval process.
OKDHS has identified the need to improve communication within the Child Welfare system and between Child Welfare workers, tribes, and resource families providing care for the children placed in their homes. Enhanced communication will not only assist in identifying areas of concern in the home but will also add needed support for the families involved. OKDHS has recognized that there has been some confusion among Child Welfare workers regarding the difference between alleged policy violations and alleged abuse or neglect in out of home care. It is anticipated that increased communication will clarify this issue along with the centralized hotline.
Oklahoma has implemented a Resource Family Support Center with staff paid by Diligent Recruitment Grant. An Online Customer Service training for Child Welfare staff has been developed. The enhancement of Bridge Portal – all training videos are now available to resource parents and they can access the training assessment they are required to complete. The Bridge Orientation Training is now available with audio. Rapid Improvement events held in Tulsa County focusing on : communication, assessment and resource family readiness. As a result, an Oklahoma specific version of "Answering The Call pocket guide was developed. Supervisor contact information is now included in the Resource Inquiry Packet. Supervisors conducted Customer Service satisfaction phone calls. Collaboration with OKDHS Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives in providing four Faith Based events in the Tulsa and Oklahoma Counties, development of county specific recruitment CD's and a process to provide to counties statewide. County specific data is provided quarterly to assist in recruitment.
Update
Survey’s:
Child Welfare Supervisor Survey
In October 2010, 74 Child Welfare Supervisors across the State of Oklahoma responded to a survey which asked them to rate the level at which their county practices the various components of Bridge in their daily work on a regular basis. Most supervisors came from Area VI (includes Tulsa County). Supervisors indicated that: 66% of Child Welfare Workers in their counties conduct initial meetings (between biological parents and Bridge Resource parents) regularly or fairly often and 67% of staff felt comfortable conducting these meetings; 88% of workers regularly or often communicated to biological and Bridge Resource Parents about intentional visitation. The majority of workers were observed as comfortable with this communication (86%); 73% of workers were aiding in intentional visitation fairly often and 81% were observed as doing regular family group conferencing; 73% of workers enable and encourage Bridge Resource Parents to serve as mentors to the child’s family; 68% of workers use concurrent planning as a practice tool regularly and 81% are comfortable with this concept; 86% of new staff and 84% of Bridge Resource Parents are educated about Bridge/Concurrent Planning as a tool; 60% of transitional meetings with families occur regularly between workers and parents; 88% of Child
22Protective Services Staff, 85% of Permanency Staff, 77% of Resource Staff, and 73% of Administrators were observed as still ongoing in their implementation of Bridge Concurrent Planning and approaches to their daily work and communication; 73% of Child Welfare staff include Bridge Concurrent Planning language that reflects the practice in their court reports often, and 60% of reports were observed as high quality; 54% of Child Welfare Staff believe that their Bridge Resource Parents have a basic understanding of the Bridge Concurrent Planning Philosophy, and 31% of staff believe parents are well-informed.
County Director Recruitment Plan Survey
In October 2010, 35 Child Welfare County Directors across the State of Oklahoma responded to a survey which asked them to indicate their intentions in developing a county-level targeted recruitment plan. This indicates a 45.4% response rate. Most county directors came from Area V (Northeastern Oklahoma Counties – 26%) and Area II (Southwestern Oklahoma Counties – 23%). The survey indicated that: 80% of county supervisors had developed a recruitment and retention plan; 83% of staff within the county were observed by County Directors to understand how the requirements of MEPA-IEP and ICWA guide recruitment of families; 57% of County Directors plan to delegate the development of the plan to a Resource Supervisor or another person in their county, while 43% planned to take the lead in ensuring that the plan is developed; most Resource Supervisors know how to developed a targeted recruitment plan (58%); 91% of County Directors wanted assistance in identifying what reports are needed to begin the process to set goals on their county’s need for Resource Families; 62% of County Directors had a description (demographic and needs) of children in your county to help you identify their recruitment needs, while only 34% indicated wanting assistance in creating the description; 42% of County Directors have communicated the need for development of a recruitment and retention plan been to their community partners and 60% of the communities in counties are aware of the racial and ethnic diversity of the children from your county and the need to have families that reflect the same; 65% of County Directors know what community partners are needed to be part of the team to help recruit and retain families, but only 51% if community partners reflect the diversity of the children in their county and most County Directors did not want Children and Family Services Division to assist in developing and implementing their locally targeted recruitment and retention plans. Comments from County Directors included the need for new ideas and manpower for recruitment, assistance with cultural awareness for minority family recruitment, and the need to use data to inform their plans.
Evaluation of the County-Level Targeted Recruitment Campaign Kickoff – Nov. 2010
A brief event evaluation survey was created to determine the successfulness of a recruitment planning event in November for county directors, child welfare staff, community partners, tribes, and other stakeholders across the state. This instrument was created in conjunction with technical assistance provided, AdoptUsKids, and the NRC. The results indicated that: Most participants were from OKDHS, but 25% were from other organizations, and almost 10% of participants from tribes. Child welfare professionals included supervisors, staff, workers from foster care, adoptions, child welfare field liaisons, therapeutic foster care, where the average years of experience was 11.2 years and these employees ranged from 31 to 60 years, so the represented staff well into their careers; 86% of attendees were female and almost 20 percent were Black, 13 percent were Native American. Over half of attendees held a bachelor’s degree and one third held a graduate degree in areas such as education, sociology, psychology, human relations, but most (19 percent) were trained in social work.; The counties with the highest attendance: Oklahoma, Tulsa, Pittsburg, Pottawatomie, Cleveland, and Garfield representing mostly State Areas III, IV, and VI; 70% agreed that the event provided them with an opportunity to share information with colleagues and taught them new information about recruiting families; 2 out of 3 attendees felt that the information presented corresponded to the needs of their county or organization and most felt the on-site work (small work groups, collaboration, and networking) helped us get closer to meeting our recruitment and retention goals for our state; Most attendees felt (75%) that their county/organization has the resources it needs to begin implementing recruitment and retention strategies based on the event; The
23most helpful sessions included the on-site small group breakout sessions, data sharing, and targeted focus. The least helpful session was on MEPA and Bridge Consultants assisted in facilitating the small group breakout sessions by county and most felt their consultants was prepared, knowledgeable, and effective.
Yearly Process Evaluation Tools – Implementation Status Reports Results
Implementation/process evaluation instruments were distributed to key program staff to measure the core components and activities of the grant yearly basis. The results indicated that: Bridge Support Resource (Call) Center operational for one year and is taking 95% of call-traffic for new pre-resource parents; 1,348 Child Welfare Workers received customer service training; Addressing current challenges to target marketing; Created a strong partnership in the mental health community to inform the upcoming Trauma-Informed Care Training for Families and Staff; The Bridge Web Portal provides good resources for parents and workers are getting positive responses when discussing with resource parents; Conference attendance focusing on engaging grant and community partners provided workers with a better understanding of the need for community partners and how this relates to potential and current families; Considering development of African American, Hispanic and sibling videos to assist with recruitment and training; Bridge Consultants assisted counties in development of recruitment and retention plans; November 2010 Recruitment/Retention Campaign Kickoff was successful with partnership between counties and Bridge Consultants to begin creating recruitment and retention plans and Bridge Inquiry Packets and “The Road” DVDs sent to all individuals inquiring about the program. Staff supervisors also received DVDs. While survey response rates are minimal the majority of responses are positive.
Evaluation of the Customer Service (Bridge) Support Center
Survey instruments were developed to evaluate the progress and effectiveness of the recently launched Bridge Resource Support (Call Center) Center with families, grant leadership, and support center staff. The Bridge Support Center began with a full-time employee in mid-January, receiving 4000+ calls to date from families. A second support center employee was hired during the summer of 2010 and is currently being trained. By way of review, the major functions of the Bridge Support Center include: (1) supporting Pre-Resource Parents through the inquiry process, (2) serving as the liaison between the assigned child welfare worker and the prospective family, (3) providing information on and support for training, (4) updating and maintaining the Bridge Family Resource Portal website http://www.okbridgefamilies.com/ , and (5) supporting current Resource Families with information on community supports in conjunction with the NRC. The results of the survey included: Over 70% of parents indicated that they had received the information they requested and 26% reported receiving follow-up phone calls; The majority of calls are being answered within 3 rings, and emails are being sent in less than 48 hours; Half of parents reported that their Call Center Specialist helped them in establishing contact with their Resource Worker; Most parents agree that the Call Center Staff are concerned about their issues (84.4%) and that they are provided with additional resources (58%). Specifically, 41% of parents were also referred to the Bridge Resource Family Web Portal for more information and nearly half of these parents (45%) accessing the portal; The Call center could improve on following up with parents after finding our answers from the counties; The main topics prompting the call included (Inquiring to become a foster/adoptive parent (64%); Asking about the status of payments (<2%); Policy questions (<2%); Issues during the approval process (<2%); Needing county or worker contact information (<2%)); 42% of families agree that they better understand the responsibilities of a Resource Parent, and 41% feel they better understand the process; Over 80% of parents agree that they are likely to contact the Support Center in the future.
Bridge Resource Support (Call) Center Analysis
Reports of call activities were pulled for the period of Dec. 2010 through March 2011 for the Resource Support (Call) Center. This provides the ability to measure a short-term outcome of the % and # of families accessing personalized support as well as those receiving expedited services (decreasing response
24time). Our caller demographic was identified and learned that: 61% of callers were interested in becoming Bridge homes. 23% were interested in adoption. The majority of callers were calling from one of the county office in Tulsa, Cleveland, or Oklahoma County or State Areas II, III, and VI. Most contacts occur via the internet (83%); The top seven cities of callers (Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Edmond, Broken Arrow, Lawton, Moore and Norman).
Bridge Resource Information/Inquiry Packet and “The Road” DVD Survey Results
This survey was distributed to Pre-resource parents receiving Bridge Resource Family Packets containing informational brochures and a recruitment DVD called “The Road to Fostering/Adoption.” This survey was distributed between January 1, 2011 and April 25, 2011. This is an ongoing project as surveys are being distributed with packets continuously being sent via the Bridge Resource Support (Call) Center staff. 28 responses were received and the data collection will be ongoing. The information surmised at this time is as follows: Most parents agreed that the packet was useful in understanding the Bridge Program for Fostering/Adoption and it answered their questions. Unanswered questions included: costs, choosing children, how parental visitation is handled, length of waiting time, and where to begin the process; The two most beneficial items in the packet were “The Road” DVD and the description of what can be expected of them as a Bridge parent. Although most parents did not watch the entire DVD (62%). 63% of parents did NOT feel comfortable sharing the DVD with others interested in fostering/adoption because they felt it was too long/time-consuming and finally Items requested from parents included: how financial assistance occurs, a list of things to be accomplished in the process, the application, and the exact process of how children are received.
Bridge Resource Parent Withdrawal Survey
This provides the ability to measure another short-term outcome of trying to decrease the number of families who are withdrawing from the process of becoming a Resource Parent. A survery was administered (and it is still ongoing) that measures the reasons why a family withdraws themselves from the application process to become a Bridge/Foster/Adoption parent. This survey revealed that: Most families have their own interest and contacted OKDHS (54%), learned about this opportunity through another current family (11%), learned via the internet (13%), or had a specific child in mind they wanted to help (14%); As parents learned about the Bridge program, most did so using the Bridge Resource Support website (www.okbridgefamilies.com) – 59%, or called the Bridge Resource Support Center (800) 376-9729 – 66%; The majority of parents (37%) indicated withdrawing for personal reasons, could not meet the requirements (12%), only wanted basic info (14%), or were frustrated with the process or OKDHS (7%); For those indicating personal reasons for withdrawal most indicated bad family timing (changes at home, work, illness, etc.). For those frustrated with the process they indicated mostly that it took too long (10%).
Short-Term and Intermediate Outcomes:
Data were pulled from our SACWIS system (KIDS) to determine our performance on the recruitment and retention goals of the grant. From October 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011 there have 4,226 families recruited. These families represent 1,407 “Bridge homes” (committed to concurrent planning practice of possible reunification), 2,251 foster homes, and 559 adoptive homes. Of this total, 427 families have completed pre-service training requirements representing a 43% completion rate. Six-hundred thirty nine (639) families have completed/approved home studies (335 foster homes, 304 adoptive homes).
25New Pre-Resource Families Recruited over Time: October 2008 – March 2011 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Oct 2008 -Apr 2009 -Oct 2009 -Apr 2010 -Oct 2010 -Adoption Foster Care Bridge (Concurrent Planning) Mar 2009 Sept 2009 Mar 2010 Sept 2010 Mar 2011 (4,579) (4,614) (4,462) (4,166) (4,217)
Despite overall recruitment numbers being lower than 2008 totals, we can observe the Bridge Resource Support (Call) Center’s impact of transferring foster and adoptive families into Bridge homes by discussing the Bridge Program of concurrent planning with parents when they inquire (illustrated in the April 2010 – March 2011 bar graphs). The Bridge Resource Support (Call) Center was instituted in February 2010 and has been in operation for about 14 months (as of April 27, 2011). This is evidence of one of our short-term outcomes from our logic model in looking at % and # of people with increased awareness of the Bridge Program.
Total New Pre-Resource Families Recruited by State Area 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Area I Area II Area III Area IV Area V Area VI Oct 2008 -Apr 2009 -Oct 2009 -Apr 2010 -Oct 2010 -Mar 2009 Sept 2009 Mar 2010 Sept 2010 Mar 2011
Area III is comprised of two counties. The first is the most highly populated county in Oklahoma - Oklahoma County (pop. 660,448). The second county in Area III is Canadian County (pop. 109,668). Area I is comprised of the lowest populated county in Oklahoma – Cimarron County (pop. 3,148) - Area VI has Oklahoma’s most densely populated county – Tulsa County (pop. 603,403).
Bridge Parent Customer Service Satisfaction Survey Results At the end of September 2010, a survey was administered electronically via an online survey tool to current Bridge Resource Parents in the state (traditional, kinship, foster and adoption were included). The survey was not administered to a random sample due to very high non-response rates in the past. The survey was administered to all families for whom we had an email address at the time of the survey. Prior to our sending out a survey link to families, we solicited email addresses from families via a postcard mailed to all families where we asked that they please contact us to give us an email address or update the address we have on file so that their voices might be heard. This survey was all about customer satisfaction. The results of this survey will establish our baseline, pre-customer-service training. The survey was emailed to 2643 families and was completed by 549 families.
26This survey was distributed to Current Resource Parents during with a close date of Oct 25, 2010. The total target population was 2,643 emails of current resource families from KIDS and Resource Support (Call) Center data collection across the entire State of Oklahoma. 549 responses were received (a 20.7% response rate).
The demographics of the sample included a wide variety of respondents where a large spectrum of Resource Parents were contacted. Thirty-one and a half percent (31.5%) of resource parents had served 3-5 years, 30.1% served 1-2 years, 14.6% served for 6+ years, and 23.9% served less than a year. Forty-one percent (41.0%) of resource parents were between 21-29 years and 31.5% were between ages 40-49 years. Only 8% of parents were age 60 years and older. Approximately eighty-seven percent (86.9%) of respondents were female. The sample indicated that parents are overall much more educated than the general population. Forty-eight (48.3%) of the sample had completed a college degree or graduate school, and an additional 32.4% completed “some college.” Over eighty percent (80.7%) of the sample identified as White/Caucasian, 10% were African-American, 4.2% were Native American, and 2.2% were Hispanic while the remainder of the sample was comprised of Asians, Africans, and those of mixed (multiple) races. This resembles the racial/ethnic demographic of Oklahoma with the exception of about half as many Native Americans (8.0% according to the 2000 Census Bureau). Seventy-three (73.6%) of the sample indicated being currently married, 21.3% are single, and 3.5% indicated a cohabiting status. Tribal affiliation was also represented for 3.8% or the sample. Most individuals indicating tribal membership identified with the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes. Ninety-eight (98.2%) of the sample speak English as a first language with some members indicating additional languages spoken of American Sign Language, Spanish, and Cherokee.
Families represented the following child welfare groups: Adoption (n=59), Kinship (n= 157), Traditional Foster Care (n=168), Therapeutic Foster Care (n=14), and multiple interest/ involvement (Kinship/Foster/Adopt) (n=151).
Families were asked if, before placement, they had a good understanding of parent expectations and 69% indicated that they did, while 25.9% indicated they did not. They were also asked if they were provided adequate information about their interests and 51.8% agreed or strongly agreed that they did while 36.1% indicated disagreement. Though we often suspect this as a complaint about the process, parents generally agreed or strongly agreed (67.9%) that that were satisfied with the timeless of payments (where applicable) and the delivery method (76.2%).Fifty-one percent (51.2%) of parents agreed that their worker included them and their experiences with the child into consideration when making decisions about his or her future during the process and only 31.3% of parents declared that they felt involved in the transition plan used when the child left their home. Fifty-four percent (54.6%) of parents indicated that their worker recognized their contributions and achievements as a Bridge Resource Parent and 54.8% felt comfortable that future placement decisions will not be impacted if they told their worker about problems with their current child placement.
As far as communication is concerned, 56.5% of parents indicated that their Resource Specialist returns their phone calls regularly or at least sometimes (23.5%). Almost 1 out of ten parents (9.7%) responded that their phone calls are rarely returned or not returned at all. Child Welfare Specialists performed slightly different in that 51.7% of parents responded that phone calls were returned regularly and 12% of parents rarely or do not at all receive returned phone calls. Parents also responded on the accessibility of the Resource Support Center (1-800-376-9729) indicating that it was regularly easy to access (52.1%) and 14.8% indicated that it was rarely or not at all accessible.
Parents provided a variety of responses in regards to their relationship with their Resource Specialist. Over half of parents (52.6%) indicated that the relationship is consistently positive with their Resource Specialist. Fifty percent (50.3%) of parents indicated that the relationship is consistently positive with their Child Welfare Specialist. Forty-seven percent (47.5%) felt regularly respected by their assigned workers overall while 12.4% felt rarely or not at all respected. Forty-five (45.7%) of parents felt their assigned workers provided regular and adequate support and assistance with visitation with their child's parents and siblings. Almost two out of three of parents (59%) felt comfortable telling their assigned workers about problems they had with the children in their home for whom they are caring. Fifty-five
27(55.9%) of parents responded that their assigned workers schedule meetings at times that are convenient for them.
Concerning respite care, less than half of Resource Parents know how to access available respite care (44.6%), and only 26.2% of parents indicated it was regularly adequate care for them. Many more results will be forthcoming with more in-depth analyses that examine parent satisfaction within different racial/ethnic groups, tribes, resource type (adoption/foster/kinship), others. The findings will be widely shared at the upcoming Nov. 2 Recruitment and Retention Campaign Kickoff with County Directors, community partners, tribal representatives and other stakeholders.
Significant Findings and Events
Significant Events
These include the Recruitment and Retention Campaign Kickoff event, attending area meetings to discuss grant activities, the collaboration with the tribal recruitment and retention subcommittee, and planning meetings for a faith-based statewide awareness campaign, and a focused Oklahoma City metropolitan recruitment campaign.
Dissemination Activities
Dissemination with Internal Partners
Grant activities have continued to be shared internally through a variety of ways. The grant sends out a quarterly newsletter on grant activities. In addition, the project manager has attended area meetings to share and field questions from the localized staff. Bridge Leadership meetings have continued to be held monthly, and Bridge Consultants were created as a subset of this group to aid in sharing information about Bridge the grant as well as how to implement Bridge, Oklahoma’s approach to child welfare and those have continued as a part of Bridge Leadership. The Data and Evaluation Team has been created to make sure that we keep a focus on data and evaluation throughout the life of the project. A reexamination of roles and committees is being conducted currently.
Dissemination with External Partners
A short video was created to be shown at the Department of Human Services Commission Meeting. Community partnerships are being explored. For example, the grant is currently in the process of designing a sticker that can be used by Sonic for all of their receipts. The project manager is in contact with Sonic corporate about the possibility of a multi-year, phased-in recruitment campaign. We continue to work with faith-based partners that are conducting their own efforts around recruitment and retention. We have also been involved in attending the state tribal workgroup. Additional brainstorming and planning for a community outreach effort is in the works.
Several abstracts and presentation proposals were submitted for dissemination opportunities during this six month period. The project manager and lead evaluator will present at the annual Pathways conference put on by the National Resource for Youth Services.
The evaluation team submitted proposals in November 2010 for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), for the 14th Annual Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference (June 2011 - Washington, DC). One submission will disseminate the results of the county-level recruitment planning occurring in early Year Three entitled, “Bridging the Gap: County Level, Targeted Recruitment of Bridge Resource Families in Oklahoma.”
A presentation was given at the Annual DR conference to Cluster 2.
28Other Activities
Other Activities
Submitted a business need proposal to our communications department to begin utilizing social media for recruitment and retention.
Technical Assistance
Submitted Technical Assistance request for Market Segmentation and have been working with AdoptUSKids on the request. In the process of authoring an RFP for marketing services.
Participate in relevant webinars as they are available.
Grant Compliance
Attended DR Grantee Meeting in Washington, D.C. March 21-23, 2011.
Carryover request of Year 2 funds completed in March 2011.
Activities Planned for Next Reporting Period
Continued Activities
Continue to provide data dashboards
Continue to collaborate and share information with all stakeholders
Provide logistical support for support and mentoring groups within the counties
Continue to use the process improvement projects in pilot counties to identify opportunities for improvement and to implement potential solutions
Continue to collaborate with the faith-based campaign
Continue national partnerships with One Church, One Child and AdoptUSKids, and states with which we have adoption service agreements
Continue to provide support through the resource support center to prospective families through the initial conversation, inquiry packet, and assigned follow up contacts and to current families through the use of surveys to families that have withdrawn from the process, general information on training opportunities and resources, updates to the web portal and ensuring its accuracy at all times, research of best practices, and contacts entered into the KIDS database
Continue to support collaborative, community based work in the counties by providing information and tools to counties to support a systematic focus on recruitment and retention needs.
Evaluation Activities
Mentoring and Support Groups – The Bridge Leadership team is planning on utilizing training clusters and our Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to work on forming organic support groups of parents who experience pre-service training together.
Evaluation of the Bridge Resource Family Portal Website
Survey instruments are also currently under development to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bridge Family Portal website: http://www.okbridgefamilies.com/ . The website currently provides: an overview
29of what Bridge Families do, the Bridge Family Orientation training, FAQs for the Bridge philosophy, family support resources, useful forms, Bridge Family stories, Bridge best practices and principles, and videos/resources on foster care and adoption.
Regression Analyses
We plan to use our SACWIS data to test the relationships between having contact with our Resource Support (Call) Center and the likelihood of being an approved home for all the different family types we need versus those families that are assisted in other ways (coming into a county office, internet, events, etc.).
Enhanced Visitation Model
The frequency and consistency of visitation is a foundational component of the OKDHS Practice Model. As research suggests, parents cannot be expected to improve parenting practices, maintain bonds with their children, and improve the quality of their parent-child interaction when visits are infrequent. Logically, for frequent visitation to occur, children must be placed in close proximity to the birth family. OKDHS must provide assistance to support the visitation process.
The visitation plan serves as an agreement between OKDHS, the child in placement and the child’s family. It structures visits, logistics, necessary tasks, and roles and responsibilities of placement caregivers, family members, and agency staff. A written plan reassures children and their families that the agency is invested in protecting family relationships. It also identifies possible consequences should the plan not be followed. Research on parental visiting of children in foster care indicates a strong relationship between the development of a visitation plan and actual visitation by parents. Social worker attitudes and behaviors that encourage visitation also have a positive influence on the quality and frequency of parent visitation.
OKDHS plans to utilize an enhanced visitation model in ten select counties. These sites will conduct a self-assessment, identifying areas of strength and those needing improvement, to be addressed as part of the county program improvement plan. Training will be provided to these CW staff regarding the visitation protocol. The outcomes of this plan will be utilized to identify the resources necessary for statewide implementation.
We believe the implementation of an enhanced model of visitation will positively affect placement stability, consistency in attaining the goal of reunification, maintaining connections, strengthening parent child relationships, sibling placements, and school stability.
More frequent and positive visitation with parents should improve the child’s adjustment in placement and reduce problematic behavior over time, potentially having a positive effect on stability of placement as well as reunification outcomes. Placement stability will also impact school stability.
A dedicated staff member will track separated siblings, identify sibling visitation issues, and send data to the counties monthly. This individual will also track successes of individual units/counties/areas in supporting sibling relationships and provide technical assistance in an effort to replicate promising practices.
Resource families are an integral part of planning visitation. The implementation of Bridge will go hand in hand with the enhanced visitation model as the resource families facilitate and support these visits. The relationship that develops between the birth and Bridge families should positively impact placement stability.
Update
30Rose Wentz provided Training of Trainers on family visitation February 28 and March 1, 2011 through the NRCPFC. Following that training a small workgroup met to develop curriculum changes that would fit the program for Oklahoma. Area III staff that participated in the TOT will be providing training for their child welfare workers and supervisors. The CFSD training unit has allotted October 10th and 11th, 2011 for the first training for Intentional Visitation with open enrollment for CW staff. The plan for providing the training to all CW staff is still being discussed.
Functional Assessment and Behaviorally Based Service Planning
Assessment is the process of gathering information that will support service planning and decision making regarding the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families. It begins with the first contact with a family and continues until the case is closed. Assessment is based on the assumption that for services to be relevant and effective, workers must systematically gather information and continuously evaluate the needs of children and parents/caregivers as well as the ability of family members to use their strengths to address their problems.
A Family Functional Assessment is a “process,” not the completion of a “tool.” This does not mean that tools are superfluous; they are helpful in documenting needs or in stimulating the conversation about assessment issues. It does mean, however, that the engagement of family members in a discussion that is individualized to their situation is vital. Simply completing a form will not capture all that is needed for a comprehensive family functional assessment.
The goal of safety and risk assessment is to determine if children are unsafe or at risk of abuse and neglect, and if child protective services are required. Once a decision has been made to open a case for services, regardless of whether or not the child is placed in out of home care, a Family Functional Assessment is undertaken as part of the development of a service plan. When OKDHS is responsible for serving the family, a functional assessment is critical to determine how to best serve the family and impact child safety, permanency, and well-being.
The new Functional Assessment tool provides a guide for enhanced assessment of the unique needs of families with children in state or tribal custody and those intact families whose children’s safety is threatened. Specific areas included in the tool are the assessment of physical, emotional, developmental, and educational/vocational needs, as well as any issues related to substance abuse. An enhanced assessment of need provides the foundation for locating the most appropriate placement in a timely manner.
Adequately assessing and meeting needs of parents, involvement of parents and children in case planning and lack of sufficient contact with parents by the CW worker are areas that the new Functional Assessment tool will address. This will be accomplished through in-depth discussions with and identification of needs for families, particularly those that relate to safety of children. The Contact Guide directs ongoing discussions with parents during monthly worker visits.
The new Functional Assessment tool provides more specific direction on assessment of and service planning for any identified educational needs. School stability will be affected by this strategy, through enhanced placement stability as many school changes occur as a result of change in placement.
Update
KIDS plans to have the Family Functional Assessment included in the September, 2011 KIDS release The workgroup that is reviewing the AOCS will also be looking at the FFA to determine if the tools can be merged into one for the purpose of ongoing assessments of safety and functioning of children and families. All of the Permanency Planning CORE level 1 and 2 trainings have been updated to allow staff opportunities to use critical thinking skills in assessing family functioning with practice case scenarios.
31A request for technical assistance through the NRCCP was approved regarding developing behaviorally based individualized service plans. The consultant originally assigned is retiring, therefore a new consultant has been assigned and will be presenting during a break out session at the 2011 Statewide Child Welfare Supervisors’ meeting in June 2011. While this new consultant is in Oklahoma for the Statewide Child Welfare Supervisors’ meeting, the workgroup will meet with her to discuss on-going plans.
Concurrent Planning
Concurrent Planning holds promise for expediting timely decision-making for children as a result of its dual focus on family reunification and planning for alternative permanency options. Effective use of Concurrent Planning includes the respectful involvement of parents and family members early in the planning process, as well as identification of any Poor Prognosis Indicators that might serve as barriers to timely reunification or another permanency outcome.
The goals of concurrent planning include:
•
Striving to provide children with stable, safe, and permanent families.
•
Ensuring family and community-centered practice in least restrictive placement settings.
•
Ensuring culturally responsive practice.
•
Facilitating an open and inclusive case planning process.
•
Providing goal-focused and time-limited services.
•
Conducting frequent and regular case reviews of children's status and family progress toward reaching safety, permanency, and well-being goals.
•
Encouraging frequent parent-child visits to increase likelihood of early reunification.
OKDHS plans to revise and clarify the concurrent planning process and anticipates this will positively affect establishing permanency goals in a timely manner, attaining permanency goals timely, achieving adoptions timely, and ensuring long-term placement. Oklahoma is narrowing the focus of concurrent planning through identification of poor prognosis factors for reunification, as well as requiring documented concurrent planning activities when a concurrent goal is appropriate. Implementation of active concurrent planning should impact these issues through more expedient identification of appropriate goals and steps to permanency, including steps to identify appropriate alternative permanency plans when a poor prognosis for reunification exists.
Update
On-going work with concurrent planning practices is provided through the use of Family Team Meetings and Permanency Roundtables. Both of these activities are focused on helping children achieve timely permanency, which includes a review of the Poor Prognosis Indicators. This information has been enhanced in the Permanency Planning CORE Level 1 and 2 training sessions to reinforce the need for early and periodic assessment for timely permanency. Oklahoma has three types of funded guardianships. The first is supported permanency using TANF funds, the second is Title IV-E funded guardianship and the third is a state funded program for those rare cases that guardianship is in the best interest of the child(ren), but the inability to meet the requirements of the other two programs, hinders the family’s ability to obtain guardianship.
32SERVICE IMPROVEMENT GOALS and OBJECTIVES
The following goals and objectives are built around the goals established in the State’s Program Improvement Plan as a result of the second round CFSR conducted in August of 2007. This plan seeks to further increase the responsiveness and effect of services provided to children and families through establishment of increasingly aggressive expectations. Data analysis of safety measures and permanency composite were complied from 04-01-10 through 03-31-11 to correspond with quarterly year rolling data collection.
National Standards Data Composites Measurement Plan
Measure
Objective
National Standar d
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
Child Safety Measure IV
Absence of Maltreatment Recurrence
94.6%
90.6%
91.1%
91.1%
93.8%
Performance on this composite exceeded the PIP, Goal Objectives and Baseline; however, is below the National Standard. Oklahoma is focused on working with families that are unsafe to prevent future maltreatment. This has been a somewhat new approach for Oklahoma. The Assessment of child safety is being used as an evidenced based approach. Training and policy updates continue to support the field in developing habits for best practice.
Child Safety Measure VII
Absence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care (12 months)
99.68%
98.78%
98.88%
98.88%
99.21 (FFY2010)
Performance on this composite exceeded the PIP, Goal Objectives and Baseline; however, is below the National Standard. Oklahoma is reviewing and refining the processes in which alleged abuse/neglect in out of home care is managed. Technical assistance has been helpful in policy and decision making around the investigation piece and the follow up with the resource worker. Currently changes to the KIDS system are underway to support the proposed changes in policy and use of the assessment of child safety in foster and pre-adoptive families.
Permanency Composite 1
Timeliness and Permanency of Reunification.
122.6
114.7
118.0
118.0
112.7
Performance on this composite is below baseline, objective, and national standard. However, this result is believed to be affected by a significant reduction of children entering out-of- home care.
33Measure
Objective
National Standar d
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
Oklahoma has developed joint response protocols with local law enforcement agencies to increase the number of children who can safely be placed with relatives or other individuals chosen by the parent during the assessment of the children’s safety rather than placing the children in OKDHS custody. In addition, Oklahoma is currently involved in two initiatives, Permanency Roundtables and the Four Disciplines of Execution. Both include emphasis on the safe reunification of children. These initiatives are anticipated to have an impact on this performance in the future.
Permanency Composite 2
Timeliness of Adoptions
106.4
107.1
107.1
106.4
127.1
Performance on this composite exceeded the baseline, the current goal and the National Standard. The existence of dedicated adoption staff who work as consultants with permanency planning staff are believed to have contributed to this progress. During this last year, a meetings were held in each area and in each of the metro area breakout counties between the adoption and Permanency Planning supervisors to discuss the progress toward permanency for the children in an identified placement with a permanency plan of adoption. These meetings created both partnerships and ownership as the barriers were discussed and responsibilities were clarified regarding the steps needed to finalize the adoption. In addition, the Integrated Bridge family assessment continues to have an impact. The integrated assessment reduced the need to convert home assessments from foster care to adoption thereby, streamlining the process.
Permanency Composite 3
Achieving Permanency for Children in Foster Care for Long Periods of Time
121.7
110.4
113.5
113.5
107.5
Performance on this composite is below baseline, objective and the national standard. The impact on performance is believed to be related to Oklahoma’s continued emphasis on permanency for children
34Measure
Objective
National Standar d
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
based upon the elements of the Practice Model and Practice Standards that focus CW staff actions on diligent search and family involvement and Permanency Roundtables. As a result, Oklahoma has seen a reduction in the number of children who have been removed from their homes between 24 and 59 months since calendar year 2010. Oklahoma anticipates that the numbers of children in out of home care will continue to decrease as result of Permanency Roundtables and the Four Disciplines of Execution.
Permanency Composite 4
Placement Stability
101.5
72.0
74.2
74.2
73.3
Performance on this composite exceeded the baseline but was below the current objective. Performance remains below the national standard. Oklahoma continues to evaluate our performance on this measure. The federal grant that is attached to the two OKDHS owned shelters in Tulsa and Oklahoma Counties has shown an influence on placement with kin earlier in the process and in turn decrease the number of placements children experience. Oklahoma is participating in a Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) utilizing trauma informed child welfare practice to improve placement stability through the NCTSN in one of the Child Welfare units in Tulsa County. Lessons learned from the BSC on positive impacts to placement stability will be expanded statewide. Technical assistance from the National Center for Data and Technology is being utilized to assist Oklahoma in increasing knowledge in the analysis of the current data related to placement stability. Oklahoma believes that current practice may have improved for children entering care which has resulted in children in care longer with placement moves in the past impacting the measure. This hypothesis will also be evaluated through the technical assistance.
3536Item-Specific and Quantitative Measurement Plan
Measure
Objective
Performanc e on Final CFSR Report
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
Safety Outcome 1 Item 1
Timeliness of initiating investigations of reports of child maltreatment
83%
65%
67.4%
67.4%
70%
Performance on this composite exceeded the PIP, Goal Objectives and Baseline; however, is below the National Standard. With the implementation of the practice model and assessment of child safety, child welfare staffs have been on a learning curve to implement and maintain the use practice. The average response time for all reports holds consistently at 4.5 days.
Safety Outcome 2 Item 3
Services to family to protect child(ren) in the home and prevent removal or re-entry into foster care
81%
73%
75.9%
75.9%
74%
Performance on this composite is below the PIP objectives, Goal Objectives and the National Standard; however, above the baseline. Documentation is increasing around the work field staff do to provide services to families in their own homes. Family centered services policy is currently being reviewed and refined to assist staff in evaluating safety. The policy will also assist in determining the most effective intervention strategy.
Safety Outcome 2 Item 4
Risk assessment and safety management
71%
54%
55.5%
55.5%
61%
Performance on this composite exceeded the PIP, Goal Objectives and Baseline; however, is below the National Standard. The assessment of child safety is being utilized in every assigned report in Oklahoma. Child Welfare Staff are becoming more comfortable in utilizing this practice as well as completing the tool and evaluating safety resulting in a positive trend for this measure. Oklahoma continues to review national information and input from Casey family services to improve the positive changes already in place.
37Measure
Objective
Performanc e on Final CFSR Report
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
Permanency Outcome 1 Item 7
Permanency goal for child
59%
44%
47.7%
47.7%
70%
Performance on this measure exceeds the target goal and performance on the federal CFSR. Oklahoma continues to believe that this performance improvement is related to the reduction of children in out-of-home care, a decrease in caseload size for staff, Bridge resource homes who are involved in working with the families, and an emphasis on family team meetings.
Permanency Outcome 1 Item 9
Adoption
25%
25%
29.5%
29.5%
42%
Performance on this measure exceeded the baseline, the current goal and the CFSR report. The existence of dedicated adoption staff who work as consultants with permanency planning staff are believed to have contributed to this progress. During this last year, several meetings were held in each area and in each of the metro area breakout counties between the adoption and Permanency Planning supervisors to discuss the progress toward permanency for the children in an identified placement with a permanency plan of adoption. These meetings continue to create both partnerships and ownership as the barriers were discussed and responsibilities were clarified regarding the steps needed to finalize the adoption. In addition, utilizing the Integrated Bridge family assessment continues to have an impact by reducing the need to convert home assessments from foster care to adoption, thereby, streamlining a step in the process.
Permanency Outcome 1 Item 10
Other planned permanent living arrangement
75%
50%
62.1%
62.1%
71%
Performance on this measure exceeds the baseline, PIP, and current objective. Although performance is below the performance on the federal CFSR, Oklahoma has had significant improvement since the baseline was established. Practice Model components related to a Permanency Pact that formalizes the relationship between the youth and
38Measure
Objective
Performanc e on Final CFSR Report
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
the placement provider when the youth’s plan is to remain in out-of-home care, family team meetings, and Bridge resource parents, .are believed to have had an impact on this measure.
Well Being Outcome 1 Item 17
Needs and services of children, parents, and foster parents
59%
57%
60.3%
60.3%
61%
Performance for this measure exceeds the baseline objective, and performance on the federal CFSR. The reduction of children in out-of-home care and the size of workers caseloads is believed to have had a positive impact on this measure. The Practice Model component, the new family functional assessment, is also believed to have had a positive influence on assessing needs.
Well Being Outcome 1 Item 18
Child and family involvement in case planning
62%
58%
61.3%
61.3%
62%
Performance on this measure exceeded the baseline, PIP objective, current objective and equals the performance on the federal CFSR. Improvement on performance is believed to be due to Oklahoma’s continued emphasis on permanency for children based upon the elements of the Practice Model and Practice Standards that encourages and engages CW staff to explore diligent search and family involvement (Family Team Meetings). Family Team meetings early on in the case has been identified as one of the Wildly Important Goals for the Four Disciplines of Execution that a county can choose to focus on during this next year. The efforts related to improving this goal are anticipated to have a positive impact on this measure in the future.
Well Being Outcome 1 Item 19
Caseworker visits with child
92%
82%
84.5%
84.5%
80%
Performance on this measure is below the baseline, PIP objective, current objective, and performance on the federal CFSR. Oklahoma believes that the performance on this standard is related to Practice Model implementation that has resulted in more in-home cases being opened by OKDHS. The scores
39Measure
Objective
Performanc e on Final CFSR Report
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
for in-home cases have decreased from 67% to 61% between the last two years. The decrease in scores has been attributed to CW staff’s understanding of the policy regarding the number of contacts required and for in-home visitation. There have been some delays between the development of the safety plan to assignment of a Family Centered Services worker. The CFSR reviews are able to capture if there is a trend in a case for contacts that are occurring over 31 days or if an initial (2 week) or subsequent visit was missed during a critical time in the case.
Well BeingOutcome 1 Item 20
Worker visits with parents
39%
41%
44.5%
44.5%
45%
Performance on this measure has exceeded the baseline, PIP objective, current objective. Performance equals that of the federal CFSR. Improvement on performance is believed to be due to Oklahoma’s continued emphasis on permanency for children based upon the elements of the Practice Model and Practice Standards that encourages and engages CW staff to build and maintain relationships with custodial and non-custodial parents (Family Team Meetings). Increasing worker and parent contact has been identified as one of the Wildly Important Goals for the Four Disciplines of Execution that a county can choose to focus on during this next year. The efforts related to improving this goal are anticipated to have a positive impact on this measure in the future.
40Strategies and Steps Influencing Systemic Factors
Case Review System
The State of Oklahoma is in the process of addressing court related issues regarding cooperation and communication between all parties to improve safety, permanency, and well-being issues for children and families. On May 21, 2009, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed House Bill 2028. It is arguably the most dramatic piece of Oklahoma child welfar

OKLAHOMADepartment of Human Services
Child and Family Services Plan 2010-2014
2011 Annual Progress and Services Report
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program (Title IV-B, Subpart 1), Promoting Safe & Stable Families (Title IV-B, Subpart 2)
June 30, 2011
Revised August 31, 2011
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction4
OKDHS Organizational Structure14
Stakeholder Participation in CFSP16
Oklahoma Vision for Child Welfare Services17
OKDHS Practice Standards17
OKDHS Practice Model17
Service Improvement Goals and Objectives34
Strategies and Steps Influencing Systemic Factors42
Child and Family Services Continuum48
Service Description50
Coordination with Tribes52
Health Care Services Plan61
Disaster Plans65
Monthly Caseworker Visits68
Adoption Incentive Payments75
Staff Training75
Evaluation and Technical Assistance75
Quality Assurance System78
Statistical and Supporting Information80
Financial Information 81
Title IV-B Child and Family Services Plan Assurances (Attachment A)82
State Chief Executive Officer’s Assurance Statement85
Chafee Foster Care Independence Education and Training Vouchers Program (Attachment B)86
Chief Executive Officer’s Certifications for the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program115
Chief Executive Officer’s Certification for the Education and Training Voucher Program117
CFCIP Funds118
FY 2012 ETV Program Request for Funds119
Child Welfare Training Plan (Attachment C)120
Resource Recruitment and Retention Goals, Objectives and Strategies (Attachment D)145
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TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.)
OKDHS Organizational Structure (Attachment E)151
Breakthrough Series Collaboration news article (Attachment F)152
3INTRODUCTION
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) is the state agency designated to administer Title IV-B and IV-E programs, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), and the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. OKDHS was established by the state legislature in 1936 and is an umbrella agency, which currently includes the following state programs: Children and Family Services (Child Welfare), Family Support Services (TANF, Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Developmental Disabilities Services, Child Care Licensing, Child Support Enforcement, and Aging Services. Services are provided statewide through offices serving all 77 counties.
Update
Oklahoma has been through many changes within the last year and has experienced some uncertainty concerning the Agency’s budget. Oklahoma along with the Nation is experiencing economic shortfalls. OKDHS along with other state entities and agencies have experienced budget reductions due to revenue deficit. However, in the midst of these challenges, OKDHS continues to fulfill the OKDHS mission: “To help individuals and families in need help themselves lead safer, healthier, more independent and productive lives.” The following provides examples of these efforts.
Quality Award: The Oklahoma Department of Human Services was one of only five organizations in Oklahoma that received a 2010 Oklahoma Quality Award on Dec. 9, 2010. The awards are presented to organizations that demonstrate high standards of excellence worthy of recognition in Oklahoma. OKDHS received an Oklahoma Quality Award for Achievement. "These are all excellent Oklahoma organizations," Gov. Brad Henry said. "They represent the best of Oklahoma and we are proud to recognize them. Organizations must be flexible and innovative if they are to thrive in the highly competitive and changing marketplace of the 21st century and these award winners exemplify that approach.”
OKDHS is the first state agency to ever win the Achievement Award. This is an advanced level for organizations that have demonstrated, through their commitment and application of continuous improvement principles, significant progress in building sound processes and in achieving improvement results. Seven criteria for the Oklahoma Quality Award support the goals of delivering ever-improving value to customers and improving overall operational performance of the organization. The criteria are: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results.
Participation in Quality Awards recognizes employees for their work, while also helping OKDHS develop performance improvement practices. OKDHS submitted a written application, which was reviewed by examiners, who verified and clarified issues at a site visit and then provided written feedback. In the face of increasing demand for services and declining state revenues, OKDHS has implemented process and procedural improvements, said Mike Strong of the Oklahoma Quality Awards Foundation. The use of comparative and competitive data has increased effectiveness within the agency and garnered national recognition. 2010 marked the 16th year of the Oklahoma Quality Awards, administered by the Oklahoma Quality Award Foundation, Inc.
Director Honored: Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Director Howard Hendrick was honored in April, 2011 with a national award by the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA). The group presented Hendrick the distinguished “Appreciation of Service” award at their Spring Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. Hendrick is the longest-serving state human services CEO in
4the country.
“Howard is truly a leader in the Human Services field and his contributions to APHSA have been invaluable,” said Tracy L. Wareing, APHSA Executive Director. “As President, he led our association through a critical period of transition, and as a long-time member, he continues to provide us with direction and expert counsel.”
Hendrick served as president of the APHSA Board of Directors from January 2009, until December 2010. Hendrick continues to be an active member of APHSA -- most recently speaking at the group’s Spring Policy Forum on a panel that provided advice to the many newly-appointed state directors from around the country in human services, health and child services.
Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA): Oklahoma applied for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) in the nonprofit category in 2010. Although OKDHS did not receive the MBNQA award, a valuable Feedback Report was received addressing areas of excellence and opportunities for improvement. Beginning June 2011, OKDHS staff will embrace the opportunity to work with a Balridge consultant to help assure OKDHS is designed for excellence using the Baldrige Framework and is positioned for a future application. This work will include looking at evidence-based excellence strategies for performance excellence in an effort to determine the essential systems for OKDHS and the level of readiness of these systems. These efforts will help to build a foundation for a sustainable journey in quality improvement.
211 Oklahoma - 2-1-1 Oklahoma has drawn national attention. On a limited budget, Oklahoma is still recognized as a national leader. 2-1-1 helps Oklahomans maintain self-sufficiency and links most callers to non-profit and faith-based organizations who, in turn, offer assistance with food, clothing, housing, health care, transportation, income support, government services, legal assistance, consumer concerns, public safety and disaster response, among other issues. Connecting Oklahomans with important services and volunteer opportunities, 2-1-1 Oklahoma is an easy-to-remember telephone number, providing free and confidential service 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.
Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) – Tulsa – A unit within Tulsa Co. Child Welfare and mental health partners, Family and Children’s Services, applied and were accepted into a BSC focused on trauma and placement stability. As a part of the CORE team, both the Area Director and the Director of the Children and Family Services Division participated. This BSC ties in with the Chadwick Trauma Informed Systems Project (CTISP) and involves a pilot where OKDHS is working to improve placement stability through a series of trauma related services and interventions. The pilot will provide valuable information as OKDHS creates our state plan (more details in the CTISP section). The final session for this BSC was held June 8 and 9, 2011 and the projected timeline for completion of this BSC is October, 2011.
The differences noticed due to OKDHS involvement in this BSC process is once a trauma lens is developed, this is not something you can take off and ignore. This lens has an impact on the staff’s perspective of themselves, the child, the family, the CW and mental health systems and the world. When an understanding is obtaining regarding the real reason a person or child has certain behaviors and reactions, a huge difference in is made in how effective the CW or mental health staff can be on a case.
The first specific area that has been impacted is the stability of the children on the line worker’s case load, which is the target population. Placements have stabilized on the CW worker’s caseload and placement disruptions have decreased for the other workers in this unit due to spread of knowledge. This is believed to be due link between the workers developing a more comprehensive approach to trauma and beginning to understand how trauma is a thread throughout the process. The community providers have noticed that
5workers are now specifically asking for Evidence Based Practices such as Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Parent Child Interactive Therapy. The second area of impact is one at the state level. The state is moving forward with implementing trauma language into the Practice Model in each area of Child Welfare, from Child Protection Units to Adoption Units.
At the state level, a trauma screening is being considered for statewide use in Child Welfare. At the local level the Day to Day manager has made some structural changes to the Resource Units, giving them more opportunity to meet the needs of the children and resource parents. This was achieved by placing the kinship foster care units and the kinship bridge navigation unit under the administration of the CPS (Child Protection Services) local manager, insuring that the trauma lens is focused on the needs of the child, biological parents and the resource parent at the beginning of the case. The CPS local manager is also on the extended team. The Resource Supervisor is working with the other resource supervisors to help Foster Parents be trauma informed and trained on trauma. The supervisor of the worker, whose caseload is the target population, is on the extended team and does not plan to stop just because the project ends. He plans to continue to look for ways he can help reduce trauma, help his workers continue to learn about trauma, implement trauma focused intervention into case practice through use of the trauma screenings for children and using their trauma knowledge to make a difference in their daily work with children and their parents. The trauma administrator and trauma clinicians will continue to consult and provide information about trauma and will support OKDHS as they spread what they have learned. Overall support and commitment is high to finish what has been started by the BSC project.
Casey’s CPS Assessment of CPS and Safety Planning – Casey Family Programs are reviewing all the CPS policy, protocols, training materials and visiting with CPS staff about implementation. Casey Family Programs will make recommendations for enhancements if needed.
Initial discussions indicate the policy, training and protocols are on target, but there are some recommendations for enhancements. CFSD program staff will be enhancing the guidance based on the Casey feedback. Casey Family Programs subject matter experts spoke at the CW Supervisors’ Meeting on June 14th and 15th, 2011.
Chadwick Trauma Informed Systems Project – Oklahoma was selected as one of three sites in the nation to become a trauma informed system. This project seeks to move OK’s CW system forward in recognizing, treating and preventing additional trauma to children, families and child welfare staff. The assessment of our current system was initiated in December 2010 and the final assessment was received in May, 2011. The assessment included three main data sources. These sources were:
•
Observations from Site Visits and Meetings with Staff and Stakeholders – Observations were collected from multiple meetings, interviews, and focus groups that were conducted with child welfare staff and leadership, as well as meetings with multiple stakeholders across the state of Oklahoma.
•
Trauma System Readiness Tool (TSRT) - The TSRT is a 159-question tool designed to be completed by child welfare line workers, supervisors, and administrators. It assesses multiple domains, such as trauma training and education of child welfare staff, practices related to working with birth parents and resource parents, and how the system addresses secondary/vicarious trauma. Participants were asked to rate questions on a five-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). Sixty-six OKDHS staff members (mostly line workers and supervisors) from across the state of Oklahoma participated in the TSRT. Fifty-five child welfare staff members completed the entire tool, while 11 staff members partially completed the tool.
6•
Focus Groups – A total of seven focus groups were conducted with the following groups:
o
Child welfare supervisors
o
Child welfare line workers
o
Mental health providers
o
Youth alumni of care
o
Resource parents
o
Birth parents
o
Tribal partners.
After the observations were made while conducting the site visits, data analysis began by focusing on the results from the TSRT and identifying common areas and themes that arose from child welfare line worker and supervisor respondents. Following that analysis, information from the focus groups was integrated into the findings. The focus group information has been organized in two ways: 1) Broad areas or ideas that were identified across multiple focus groups (at least 5 out of 7 focus groups mentioned this topic); and 2) Specific areas or ideas that emerged as issues or topics particularly relevant to one or two focus groups. Information gathered from child welfare staff (line workers and supervisors) will be presented first, organized by strengths and barriers, followed by findings shared within the stakeholder groups (family and youth members, mental health providers, and tribal partners). This document concludes with a discussion regarding the strengths and barriers that emerged continuously throughout the assessment, followed by recommendations for the future and next steps.
Observations from Site Visits and Meetings with Staff and Stakeholders
The following observations were made during site visits and while conducting focus groups with consumers and key stakeholders across the State of Oklahoma:
•
High-level of staff enthusiasm and hunger for knowledge and growth
•
High level of support from Director of Human Services (Howard Hendrick)
•
Many community partnerships, including Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Court Improvement Project
•
OKDHS’ Partnership with Oklahoma University’s Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and Family and Children’s Services (part of the NCTSN)
•
Pilot program – Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) Training for Therapeutic Foster Care and group home providers
•
START Program – adaptation of Sanctuary, trauma training for group home staff
•
Transformation Grant – Department of Mental Health (DMH) will focus on Adult Trauma and Treatment
•
Many therapists in Tulsa and Oklahoma City have been trained in TF-CBT and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
•
Project SafeCare – home-based prevention program for high-risk families
•
Dolores Bigfoot and Indian Country Child Trauma Center – training on culturally adapted trauma treatment for American Indian children and families available
•
Lack of resources and therapists for tribal children involved in the child welfare system reported by tribal partner
After the assessment, OKDHS will create a state plan for improving services and enhancing the practice model as needed. The plan is to review each component of the Practice Model and our current practice to see if there is a need to enhance that component to be more in line with research and practice related to treating trauma. Project runs through September 2013.
Next Steps:
71.
Chadwick Center subject matter experts will present at the CW Supervisor meeting (June 2011) and the Judicial Summit (August 2011).
2.
The steering committee/work group will review the state assessment and begin preparing the state plan.
3.
FOD purchased a book titled “Traumatic Experience and the Brain” for every child welfare staff that can serve as a foundation. This book has been shipped to most county offices.
4.
A 2-day Train the Trainers is scheduled for August 2011 for the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit. A train-the-trainer approach will be used and year long plan to roll out the training statewide.
5.
As part of the state plan, OKDHS may provide follow-up training videos for each component of the practice model to show how that particular component can assist with recognizing, treating and preventing additional trauma.
Chapin Hall Data Center – OKDHS has made the decision to join the data center through Chapin Hall. This will provide for improved data analysis through longitudinal data and an easy to use dashboard. CFSD is working with Chapin Hall on a contract. After the contract is in place, data will be available to review within approx. 90-120 days. Chapin Hall will come on site and train staff in how to use the information. This training will be hosted by Casey Family Programs.
CORE Training Changes (effective July 1) – A new approach to CORE Training was created. Training staff has re-created the scenarios used in training and have adjusted their training approach to be more focused on skill building. Program Manager presented at HSC and CW Leadership Meeting which includes both program and field staff. This model will be introduced during Child Welfare Supervisor Quarterly Meetings held in each OKDHS geographic area. (July – September).
Evaluation of the Practice Model – Casey Family Program is assisting with developing an evaluation plan for the OKDHS practice model. OKDHS is in the initial phase of developing this evaluation with the Casey consultant. Outcomes data and reports that are already being used that may be incorporated in the evaluation, i.e., substantiation rates, placement stability, CFSRs, repeat maltreatment are being reviewed. In conjunction with this outcome evaluation, an additional process evaluation will be explored to discover treatment fidelity regarding implementation of the practice model components (AOCS, transfer meetings, FFA, and FTM).
Faith Based and Community Initiatives:
The 8046 CAMPAIGN is a statewide effort named for the number of Oklahoma children in state custody on January 2, 2011. The Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives has partnered with Oklahoma Department of Human Services, private business as well as area foster care and adoption ministries to recruit Bridge foster families across the state through the 111 project.
The 111 PROJECT luncheon (formerly Change a Child’s Forever Community Gathering) for Metro Oklahoma City will be held on June 28th at First Baptist Church Moore. The goal of the 111 Project is 1 church, recruiting 1 family with 1 purpose in partnership with the 8046 statewide initiative. Discussion topics will include: Integrating foster care ministry into your congregation; helping children in state custody; and recruiting and supporting (Bridge) foster families.
Family Expectations – Family Expectations is one of eight sites nationwide participating in the large scale national evaluation of Building Strong Families, a federally funded study of programs for unmarried families. The program model is designed to improve family outcomes and child well-being by teaching unmarried parents in couple relationships how to communicate better, resolve conflicts constructively and develop stronger, healthier and long-lasting relationships.
8A large, rigorous federal study of effectiveness released in August of 2010 showed that unmarried parents giving birth to a child benefited in numerous ways from their participation in the Oklahoma City-based service. As part of a groundbreaking national study called Building Strong Families (BSF), couples who participated in Oklahoma’s Family Expectations program were more likely to stay together, reported higher quality relationships and had fathers who were more likely to remain involved with their children as compared to the control group. In addition to helping hundreds of Oklahoma families, Family Expectations promises to impact national human services policy due to the strength of the findings from the study on the Oklahoma program. The Family Expectations program offers public policy leaders committed to strengthening vulnerable families a new strategy and fresh encouragement that low-income families can be substantially aided in achieving their own aspirations for stability and happiness.
Parents participating in Family Expectations were offered access to this new, innovative program designed to provide support to financially vulnerable families during a key life transition: birth. Each received 30 hours of relationship education and parenting information in a group setting, with 75 percent of the parents beginning their workshops during pregnancy. The remaining couples joined the program prior to their child reaching three months of age. Parents also were provided access to ancillary activities designed to reinforce curriculum concepts, continue their education on a wide range of topics and facilitate the development of social bonds within their peer group. Finally, each couple was provided a Family Support Coordinator to meet in one-on-one sessions designed to reinforce the curriculum and address other family needs through referrals. While both married and unmarried couples participate in Family Expectations, only the unmarried couples are involved in the BSF study. (The married couples are in another study: Supporting Healthy Marriages.)
Mathematica Policy Research, one of the nation’s most respected human services research firms, completed the research report: 15-Month Impacts of Oklahoma’s Family Expectations Program. The report includes findings that demonstrate a consistent pattern of positive impacts across a range of outcomes for couples participating in Family Expectations. This rigorous, random assignment study found that positive impacts of Family Expectations were especially strong among African American couples.
The findings demonstrate that the Family Expectations model works. The strength and rigor of the procedures employed in Oklahoma make it possible for other states and organizations to replicate the model. Because the research used a random assignment methodology and a very diverse sample of couples who usually do not have access to such services, the results offer a great deal of support to the belief that vulnerable new families can be strengthened at a critical time of transition.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services partnered with the federal government in this research effort from inception. Family Expectations served 503 Oklahoma City couples during the study period from June 2006 through March 2008. Participating couples received up to 30 hours of relationship education in the core curriculum, plus numerous additional educational opportunities.
Family Expectations began participating in the BSF research study in June 2006, and the last couple entered the research sample in February 2008. Just more than 1,000 couples are included in the Oklahoma research sample (approximately half were randomly assigned to receive the Family Expectations program and half were randomly assigned to a control group that was followed over time, but did not receive Family Expectations). The impact results were long-coming as the research follow-up data was not collected until the parents reached the 15-month mark following intake into the program.
Franklin Covey’s 4 Disciplines of Execution (4DX) – The 4 Disciplines of Execution is a process that provides the tools, methodology, and mindset to produce superb results on an organization’s most
9important goals. A goal with significant consequence and value is referred to as a Wildly Important Goal (WIG). This initiative will focus the agency on specific child welfare WIGs related to safety and permanency. The 4 Disciplines of Execution process was launched in May, 2011. Each county and program has selected lead measures to help achieve county WIGs that are predicted to have a positive effect on achieving the agency WIGs.
Improving Internal Communication – CFSD and FOD both recognize the importance of improving internal communication between divisions and have asked for Clarus Consulting to assist with improving communication across and through the divisions. OKDHS has been participating in a series of focus groups with all levels of both divisions. Upon completion of these focus groups, Clarus Consulting will provide OKDHS with recommendations as to improvement in internal communication.
IV-E Enhancements – CFSD and FOD have been discussing the possibility of creating a centralized approach to IV-E in order to improve the eligibility process and possibly the saturation rate, which would have a significant impact on the amount of federal dollars. If the decision is made not to centralize, OKDHS still plans to work on updating the guidance and accountability of the process. An initial step that is in progress is towards getting all court orders into the KIDS (SACWIS) system.
Joshua’s List -An on-line child care restricted registry was made available to the public on July 1, 2010, as mandated by a law passed during the 2009 legislative session. Under HB 2643, the Oklahoma Child Care Facilities Licensing Act, OKDHS has established and will maintain an online database of individuals restricted from working or residing in a child care facility. OCCS established the procedure for recording persons who have confirmed abuse or neglect in a child care facility; a revocation or denial of a facility license; or a specified criminal history. The legislation expanded the use of emergency orders to close any unlicensed child care facility operating in Oklahoma that is not in compliance with mandated child care licensing requirements. The law also required OKDHS post childcare inspection records online.
Leadership Academy for Middle Managers – LAMM -Three staff from OKDHS, Annette Burleigh, Programs Manager for Therapeutic Foster Care and Developmental Disability Services, Eugene Gissandaner, Assistant County Director in Oklahoma Co., and Tricia Howell, Programs Manager for Permanency Planning, participated in the Leadership Academy for Middle Managers (LAMM). LAMM is a national training program for middle managers who work in public and tribal child welfare systems and in private agencies that provide services traditionally provided by state child welfare agencies in 2010 and 2011. Like the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute of which it is a part, the LAMM seeks to build the capacity of the nation’s child welfare workforce to improve outcomes for children, youth and families.
The change and innovation effort Annette Burleigh supported in leadership centered on the identification of needed steps, development of a plan, and continued progress toward a Trauma Informed Child Welfare System. The change effort began prior to the LAMM training when the TFC Section implemented a
10Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) pilot for Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC) and Group Home therapists. This effort was one of several steps in moving Child Welfare services at OKDHS to becoming Trauma Informed. The intent in the identification and development of the pilot was that by increasing the number of therapists trained in TF-CBT would lead to better services and outcomes for our children.
The TF-CBT pilot focused on improving the clinical services being provided to our children specifically those receiving behavioral health services and moving those services to a higher level of effectiveness. Given that, many of the TFC agencies employ entry-level therapists with little practice experience and frequently limited life experience the training provided therapists with specific tools for use with children as well as skills for use of the tools. Agencies identified for the pilot began to evaluate their systems for embedded trauma with a goal of the TFC agency work to change systems as needed to reduce trauma for children served by those agencies. The therapists trained were to implement uniform assessment tools as a part of the pilot. Programmatic changes were identified. Implementation of the pilot was particularly exciting as it was accomplished with existing funding through a joint effort with Children and Family Services, Office of Child Care-Licensing, Oklahoma Health Care Authority (our state Medicaid funding agency), National Resource Center for Youth Services (NRC), and Oklahoma Health Sciences Center-Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. The pilot consisted of three days intensive training, weekly follow up consultation calls, and a follow up intensive training
The change initiative for our larger agency was propelled with Oklahoma’s selection as one of three Laboratory Sites for the Chadwick Trauma Informed Systems Project. This effort is to support Oklahoma’s transition to a Trauma Informed Child Welfare System. Work with the pilot is already leading to the identification of needs for much larger system change and support, including work with OKDHS staff, with the foster parents, with providers, and with the court. These efforts are currently in process. The LAMM training provided Ms. Burleigh with additional skills for partnering with The Chadwick Center during the assessment phase and in building on the stakeholder group as a resource for helping to develop the state plan.
Oklahoma County Assistant County Director, Eugene Gissandaner’s change initiative was to open the Building Bridges Visitation Center (BBVC) and ensure implementation of practice, procedures, applicable policy and standards necessary to conduct intentional visitation between parents and their children. The goal of the BBVC is to strengthen families through consistent visitation, provide support to enable positive parent and child interactions, maintain continuity of family relationships, help families prepare for reunification, and improve the emotional well-being of children.
The BBVC opened on 1/18/11 and has facilitated visitation for an average of 8-9 families per week involving an average of 19-20 children. The open house was held on 4/26/11 and went quite well. Several members of the commission, OKDHS, community partners and stakeholders attended. The LAMM training was very helpful in guiding Mr. Gissandaner through the leadership processes needed to be successful in the implementation of this change initiative. Utilizing leadership strengths as well as strengths of relevant others involved was a big emphasis in the training.
The change initiative Tricia Howell selected was behaviorally based case planning. The conference assisted OKDHS in identifying the need for technical assistance to move this initiative forward. The information gained through the peer network that was developed, as well as the curriculum that was presented during the conference, was very helpful in this work.
Oklahoma Child Care - A report from a national child advocacy group, National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, ranked Oklahoma number one in the nation when it comes to overseeing the state’s child care centers. “We Can Do Better: 2011 Update, a third in a series of reports
11that scores and ranks the states, including the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense (DoD) on 10 program requirements and five oversight benchmarks for child care centers. NACCRRA’s update found that states have made progress but more progress is needed. The “Oversight” category saw Oklahoma ranked number one, receiving 48 out of a total 50 points. When the same report was issued two years ago, Oklahoma was tied for third place with Tennessee. The report gives areas for improvement, including increased education and training for child care center staffers, as well as using fingerprints to check an applicant’s background for any criminal activity. Combined with both Regulation and Oversight, Oklahoma placed second.
Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS) – OCCS set a new caseload record in April 2011. The ending caseload in April was 200,240, topping 200,000 for the first time in the OKDHS division’s history. There are 222,740 children in this record-setting caseload. In federal fiscal year 2010, OCSS distributed more than $300 million in child support collections, also an Oklahoma record.
Reliable child support helps a family achieve and sustain financial stability, easing the custodial parent’s worries about financial issues and reducing the family’s long-term need for other kinds of state assistance. OCSS is number two in the nation in collections growth over the last 10 years.
Eligibility for some OKDHS programs requires parents to seek child support from the non-custodial parent. Others open cases with OCSS for a variety of reasons, including access to its enforcement remedies -- like wage assignment and tax refund intercepts -- or for the peace of mind that clear monitoring and documentation can provide to avoid the “he said, she said” when determining amounts owed.
Unlike most state assistance programs, there are no income-based eligibility requirements for child support services. Either parent may apply to open a current support case.
Research shows that children who receive financial support from both parents do better in school and have improved development over those who don’t. Parents who pay child support regularly are also shown to be more involved with their children, providing them with emotional as well as financial support.
Paternity Establishment -Oklahoma had the highest Statewide Paternity Establishment Performance Measure (Statewide PEP) of all the states in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010 and was # 2 in 2009 The following is Oklahoma’s performance since 2005: 2005: 112%. 2006: 122%, 2007: 119%, 2008: 110%, 2009: 108%, and 2010: 107%. The first year this performance measure was used by all states was FFY 2000. Since that time, Oklahoma has improved by 32%, moving from 81% in 2000 to 107% in 2010. The nationwide average Statewide PEP for the same period was a decrease of 5%.
Permanency Roundtables – In early 2011, OKDHS began an initiative with Casey Family Programs to move children to permanency. This involved the implementation of the Permanency Roundtable process created by Casey Family Programs. Permanency Roundtables (PRTs) are structured professional case consultations with a threefold purpose:
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To develop an aggressive, innovative action plan that will move the subject child or sibling group toward legal permanence and positive permanent connections;
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To provide case-centered “learning labs” for staff knowledge and skills development; and
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To identify recurring practice and systemic barriers to the attainment of permanency.
To date, 131 children were reviewed in Round 1 (March – May). The plan is to continue to implement PRTs in all six of the OKDHS geographic areas. During Round 2 (July – October), OKDHS will review 6 cases per Area per month. Permanency Field Liaisons are taking a more active role in coordinating and
12facilitating during Round 2 and are responsible for follow-up. CFSD designated a state-wide program person to support the effort. Additional training will be provided to child welfare staff, Core team members and legal community (Fall). OKDHS is developing a method by which to evaluate the effectiveness of the process.
Presenting with Purpose - Presenting with Purpose is a collaboration between the OKDHS and the National Resource Center for Youth Services (NRCYS) and alumni youth. Within the NRCYS three contracts have participated in this collaboration: Oklahoma Independent Living (OKIL), Resource Family Training (RFT) and the National Resource Center for Youth Development (NRCYD). Initially, Tulsa County OKDHS worked with NRCYS to assist with preparing youth to participate on youth panels during the RFT trainings for new foster parents. What has evolved from this collaboration is a training to assist youth with strategically sharing their stories on both personal and professional levels.
A pilot entitled Youth Panel Orientation Training was held in Tulsa County on October 21, 2010 for 35 youth and adult participants. The pilot was facilitated by an RFT Staff person and an alumni youth. This pilot proved to be valuable as the alumni youth were able to provide and interpret information that was understood by the youth participants. Through feedback from the participants and planning committee, changes were made which included: identified tools of strategic sharing, defined the role for the supportive adult, emphasized demonstrating and utilizing the preparation, practice, and added a debrief after each presentation. These changes accentuated the need for youth adult partnerships and importance of always having a purpose for sharing. During this time, NRCYD joined the collaboration and provided the Strategic Sharing toolkit that was being developed by NRCYD and Foster Club. This toolkit became an integral part of the training as the toolkit summarized the efforts made by the planning committee.
Another major development from the initial pilot and collaboration with NRCYD was establishing name of Presenting with Purpose (PWP) as the name of the training. This title was based on a comment from one of the alumni youth for the need to always have a purpose for sharing. PWP is an opportunity for youth presenters to build their skills and increase their professionalism. Goals of PWP include: know how to develop a strategic plan for sharing their story, understand the importance of planning for and debriefing their experience in a presentation, and be able to identify how they can share their story to make a difference. In an effort to make PWP more marketable to youth, an alumni youth suggested the creation of the SWAG nation. SWAG is a hip hop term referencing a person’s way of carrying themselves. The alumni youth suggested that SWAG would stand for Speaking With a Goal. Youth completing PWP will be a part of the SWAG Nation. A secured Facebook Group called SWAG Nation was also developed to allow youth to connect with each other and serve as an online venue to debrief their experiences. PWP also highlights how to use the tools of strategic sharing when interacting online.
The Oklahoma and Cleveland County IL County Coordinators were contacted prior to the pilot dates and given information about the intent of the training and the need to prepare youth for the pilot. This supported the adult in understanding better their role in the training. Also, the planning committee has decided to have smaller groups of participants. Pilots were held on May 23, 2011 in Oklahoma City (16 participants) and June 1, 2011 Norman (23 participants). The pilots were facilitated by an RFT Staff person and an alumni youth. Pre-Post surveys were developed and used for these pilots. For both dates, the Pre-Post surveys showed increased learning in all items evaluated. Some comments from these pilots include: “I love this because it strongly helps you build confidence.” “Good information for workers.” “Good training, I like the interaction among youth and adults.”
The PWP planning committee will hold a formal debrief of the pilots. Informal discussions after the last two PWP pilots have included the need for ongoing training in the area, how to provide this training in an online format, a possible ongoing evaluation process of the youth presenters progress, and utilization of these youth in providing training and technical assistance through the OKIL program
13Program Improvement Plan – OKDHS has completed and reported on Quarter 6 (out of 8) on our PIP. The final steps focus on community partnership boards, mediation, continuing to implement the practice model, collaborating with Tribes, court related training (Oklahoma County).
Shelter Usage Monitoring – In order to maintain a focus on the use of shelters, the Division Directors for the Field Operations Division and Children and Family Services have created a preliminary plan for monitoring shelter usage statewide. This plan requires additional documentation and accountability at all levels for children whose length of stay in shelter exceeds guidelines.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program, helps low-income individuals and families have improved access to nutritious food. Participants use an Access Oklahoma electronic benefits card, similar to an debit card, which is accepted at 2,810 retail outlets, including farmers’ markets. Altogether, 338,711 Oklahoma families participated in the program – 53,000 more than in the previous year.
2010 was a record-breaking year for SNAP. OKDHS distributed $865,699,190 in food benefits – a 46 percent increase over the previous year and double the amount distributed five years ago. Increasing the SNAP benefit distribution is important to the state’s economy. “For every dollar spent on SNAP $1.73 is generated throughout the economy.” Based on this projection, the SNAP program created $1.5 billion in economic activity for Oklahoma in 2010.
For the fourth year in a row, Oklahoma was recognized as the most outstanding state in the southwest region by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services. The average benefit is $4.27 per person per day or $1.42 per meal.
OKDHS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Child Welfare services are provided through two divisions of OKDHS, the Children and Family Services Division (CFSD) and the Field Operations Division (FOD). Both operate under the direction of the Department’s Chief Operating Officer. (See OKDHS Organizational Chart at Attachment E)
The CFSD is responsible for planning, program and policy development, training, and all other child welfare administrative and management functions at the state level. The CFSD also directly supervises adoption field staff and manages the adoption program in the counties. CFSD staff are assigned to one of the following six program units to carry out CFSD responsibilities:
Administrative Services Unit (ASU): The ASU is responsible for the basic administrative support of the division including personnel and budget, contracts, benefits, fingerprinting, coordination of services with Title XIX and Social Security, and coordination of child welfare fiscal programs with the DHS Finance Division.
Adoption Unit (AU): The AU is comprised of the Adoption and Post Adoption Services sections. Adoption Services is responsible for assisting in securing a safe, permanent home for children in the permanent custody of the Department through a comprehensive array of services that identifies, approves, matches and supports adoptive families. Post Adoption Services Section is responsible for administering financial and medical benefits, child care, Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance (ICAMA), Confidential and Intermediary Search, Reunion Registry and Paternity Registry. This section provides case management service to more than 8000 families who have finalized an adoption of a child who was in out of home placement in the State of Oklahoma.
Technology and Governance Unit (TGU): The TGU is responsible for management of Oklahoma’s SACWIS KIDS including system development and maintenance, SACWIS compliance, KIDS
14Helpdesk, KIDS application training, management reports, and web support for CFSD. In addition, the TGU serves as the CFSD representative to Oklahoma’s Enterprise application development effort as well as the OKDHS Governance Board.
Prevention, Prevention, Training and Service Unit (PPTSU): The PSTSU is comprised of the Child Protective Services, Family Centered Services, Oklahoma Children’s Services and Training sections. The unit is responsible for the policies and procedures for investigating assigned reports of alleged abuse and neglect, appeals, voluntary services for families, community home based services and statewide training of staff.
Permanency, Independence, and Continuous Quality Improvement Unit (PICQIU): The PICQIU is comprised of the Permanency Planning, Independent Living Services, and Continuous Quality Improvement sections. The unit is responsible for the policy and procedures related to services to children and families involved with OKDHS due to court intervention, independent living, and facilitating service evaluation, planning and improvement.
Resource Unit (RU): The Resource Unit develops policy and procedure; monitors; and provides training and consultation regarding Foster Care, which includes the recruitment and retention of resource parents, and higher levels of care. This unit is also responsible for training and coordination of services with the tribes; and the supervision and monitoring of two federal grants. Resource Unit staff are involved with other state agencies to assure an integrated system of health and behavioral health services for children and families, and a statewide Systems of Care program.
The primary function of FOD is to ensure local service delivery of the programs for which it is administratively responsible. For purposes of service administration, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) has divided the state into geographic areas. There is an area director assigned to each area. There is at least one Human Services Center (HSC) in each county. Metropolitan areas may have more than one HSC. A county director is responsible for each HSC and has line authority for FOD staff in that HSC. The county director reports to the area director who reports to the FOD director. Each area office has field liaisons that provide technical support to the area director and county directors. FOD staff in local HSCs administer:
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Family Support Services;
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Children and Family Services;
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Adult Protective Services;
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Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Coordination and Information Services;
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Voter Registration; and
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School-based Services.
STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION IN CFSP
Statewide Assessment Team
Placement Provider Surveys
CAPTA Group
Youth Surveys
Chaffee Group
Parent Surveys
TFC Association
State CFSR Interviews
Tribal Groups
Department of Mental Health
Foster Home Associations Group
Department of Education
Foster Parent Focus Groups
University of Oklahoma Higher Education
Court Improvement Project
OCS Provider
Practice Model Contacts
Adoptions
Legislative Audit
Teen Panels
Oklahoma Citizen’s Review Panel
15SERVICES
2010-The State of Oklahoma has included external and internal stakeholders in the development of the Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP) in many different venues. The process of developing this plan began with the Statewide Assessment completed in 2007. The Statewide Assessment was developed with the input and support of external stakeholders from across the state. Many different stakeholder groups exist and have input to specific areas of the Child Welfare system. Much of the stakeholder input comes from local county offices meeting with groups to garner input on the local functioning of child welfare.
Tribal input is important to the success of the CFSP. Specific tribal groups have been established to enhance the communication and coordination between the tribes and state. Tribal workers and members are included in statewide stakeholder groups.
As a part of the five year CFSP, the State of Oklahoma is planning to develop a guiding committee made up of invested external stakeholders from across the state. Guidelines will be developed for this committee to function. In addition, communication will occur with other divisions of the Department and other states to gather information on barriers and benefits of this type of approach. This group is envisioned to provide guidance and input on continued development of the Practice Model and OKDHS approach to engagement with families and the community.
Update
Collaborative partnerships that were developed include Domestic Violence Child Fatality Review Board, Child Abuse Training Coordination Project, Children’s Justice Act Board, NorthCare, Parent Assistance Center and SAFE Kids Organization.
The development of a statewide Child Welfare Stakeholder collaborative was identified as a strategy within Oklahoma’s Program Improvement Plan. During this process, major progress has been made. An already existing committee, which includes the membership desired for this collaborative, has indicated the interest and capacity to serve as the state-level community collaborative for child welfare. In addition, this collaborative has the ability to achieve state-level barrier "busting" in service array improvements. A final decision on their commitment will be made this month. In order to help inform the state-level collaboration of service array improvement needs at the local level, efforts are also being targeted at already existing local collaboratives. The Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth has identified two staff members to help the local county collaboratives get the technical assistance they need to become better functioning collaboratives.
On June 17, 2011, meetings were held with external stakeholders and tribal partners. The meetings provided stakeholders an overview of Oklahoma’s APSR and preliminary findings of data measures. Discussion was centered on stakeholder needs and identifying suggestions for future dissemination of material. Suggestions focused on condensing report and providing a summary report highlighting areas rather then sending out lengthy report.
VISION FOR CHILD WELFARE SERVICES2010-2014
OKDHS Child Welfare services will be seen as proactive, responsive, innovative, and accountable. We will have a competent and dedicated staff that consistently includes families as partners and who are respected members of the community. The lives of children and families will be better due to Child Welfare involvement.
16OKDHS Practice Standards
In late fall 2006 the state initiated the development of a set of Practice Standards that would guide the “how” of the day-to-day practice of administrators, supervisors, and line staff in their interaction with children, youth and their families, other social workers, and the community of caregivers and providers. A cross section of agency leaders, supervisors, and line staff came together to explore their beliefs and values about this work, the “evidence” that existed in the field and the experiences of children and families involved in the system. Below is the bi-product of the Practice Standard effort.
1.
We Continually Examine our Use (Misuse) of Power, Use of Self and Personal Biases
2.
We Respect and Honor The Families We Serve
3.
We Listen to the Voice of Children
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We Continuously Seek to Learn Who Families Are and What They Need
5.
We Believe in the Value of “Nothing About Us Without Us”
6.
We Maintain A Childs’ Permanent Connection to Kin, Culture and Community
7.
We Conduct Our Work With Integrity At All Levels Of The Agency
The Practice Standards were well received by staff and supervisors and based on the CQI process, have become ingrained in the practice of the agency.
Following the development and yearlong implementation of the Practice Standards, the state embarked on an effort to develop a Practice Model that embeds the practice standards and specifically describes the “what” of the day-to-day work.
Practice Model
Below is a brief description of Oklahoma’s Practice Model. The Practice Model, developed in order to address the issues identified in the federal CFSR, is a culmination of the work and input received from external and internal stakeholders statewide and is the cornerstone of the Program Improvement Plan. Technical assistance was received from numerous sources, including the National Resource Center on Family Centered Practice and Permanency Planning and ACF Region VI office. OKDHS is attempting to change our culture.
Update
Lorrie Lutz was contracted to provide Technical Assistance in the form of TA calls with OKDHS Child Welfare. These TA calls began in March 2011 and ended in June 2011. The purpose of these calls were to assist staff with completing the Golden Thread that identifies and describes the specific safety threats, what behaviors need to change, services to assist the family in changing behavior and how we are going to identify change in behavior. The process of the TA call involves a host county of participants that has volunteered a case to be discussed. OKDHS child welfare FOD and CFSD staff members are notified and are able to listen on the TA call. The host county typically consists of the CPS worker and supervisor as well as the PP worker and supervisor. Prior to the TA call, Lorrie Lutz and the host county met via teleconference for 45 minutes to discuss the case and build foundation for the TA call with the OKDHS FOD and CFSD staff members. During the 1 hour TA call, Lorrie Lutz guides the host county through the Golden Thread beginning at the point of a transfer meeting to discuss the AOCS, to the FFA that the host county completed leading to the behaviorally based ISP. Exploration about intentional visitation, Bridge families and Family Team Meetings were interwoven throughout the TA call.
Lorrie Lutz’s techniques utilized during the call include exploring case information with the staff, extracting critical thinking skills from the staff as they describe decisions made throughout the case. The cases that were volunteered already have a completed AOCS, FFA and ISP’s. Lorrie Lutz focuses on the strengths of the staff members and their efforts on their case work. Areas of improvement are explored
17using critical thinking skills that are not judgmental but rather as a guide to assess other options for the families
Practice Model Guidebook
Part of the OKDHS PIP is to provide an updated version of the Practice Model Guidebook. A workgroup of CFSD staff and FOD staff have met two times to discuss guidebook updates. These updates include changes to policy, new forms and reports, as well as new updates to KIDS. The OKDHS practice standards and practice model were reviewed by a tribal workgroup. This tribal workgroup provided feedback and input to enhance cultural awareness. These suggestions were submitted to the Practice Model Steering Committee.
Centralized Hotline
The centralized hotline component of the Practice Model seeks to ensure that the state increases consistency in how the agency brings families into the system and the priority in which those families are served. The centralized hotline for implemented counties will take the referral, screen in or out and prioritize before forwarding to the local county office. The centralized hotline takes referrals for children as well as vulnerable adults.
Update
Implementation of the centralized hotline continues. The majority of the state is now being served by the centralized hotline. The remaining counties in northeast Oklahoma will be online soon. A second location at the Rogers County office, Claremore, Oklahoma has been secured to house the remaining members of the centralized hotline. This location will allow the remaining counties to be served. This second location will also provide a back up for the Oklahoma City facility should the need arise.
Assessment of Child Safety
Information is the foundation of safety assessment. To uncover and understand child safety, OKDHS child protection workers assess the pertinent areas of family life that contribute to children being safe. OKDHS understands the necessity of initiating safety assessments of children in a timely manner. The goal of OKDHS is to establish a plan to address this issue. This will include gathering current data related to the correlation between the age of the child, the seriousness of the maltreatment, and the time frame for response. Following analysis of the data that will be presented to the Human Services Centers, a plan of action will be developed. In addition to the use of the Assessment of Child Safety (AOCS) for families during the Child Protective Services process, staff utilizes this assessment for ongoing cases to assist in visitation, reunification planning and at the time of case closure ensuring child safety drives our decision making process. CW staff are also guided by policy to integrate the AOCS into the Family Team Meeting process.
Update
The CFSD, Permanency Planning staff are currently in the process of developing a workgroup of both CFSD and FOD staff to look at making adjustments to the AOCS for use in the on-going assessment of children and families. All of the Permanency Planning Core: Level 1 and 2 training sessions have been updated to offer case scenarios for staff to practice critical thinking skills in using the AOCS.
Family Team Meetings
Family Team Meetings (FTM) is planning and decision-making processes that include parents, caregivers, children, social workers, and other service providers. They may also include extended family, friends, members of community groups, and other community partners. There is value in bringing families together in the planning and decision making process. The OKDHS Practice Model requires that Family Team Meetings be held throughout the process of serving a family—case opening to case closure.
18A Family Team Meeting emphasizes the need for the family to be an integral part of the decision making process. Collaboration with relatives and individuals concerned with the identified family to discuss placement planning may improve the likelihood of identifying the best first placement for a child. Ongoing FTM will assist in continually assessing the needs of the child and placement provider.
The FTM process, when used throughout the life of a case, provides opportunities to maintain focus on achievement of permanency goals in a timely manner through continued involvement of the family, children, caregivers, social workers and service providers. The FTM process addresses the need for maintaining connections to community, extended family, culture, and tribes through engaging family members, the child, and others who are connected to the child and/or family. Family Team Meetings enhance the search process through updating the information needed to continually assess possible permanent placements and reinforce connections with community, extended family, culture, and tribes. When appropriate kinship placements are not available, Family Team Meetings are helpful in identifying alternative resources.
Family Team Meetings provide parents with enhanced opportunities to identify their individualized needs. When parents are absent, the FTM process can assist in locating them through information provided by the other members of the team.
Regular Family Team Meetings will encourage more consistent child and family engagement, strengthening the team approach between Child Welfare workers and families. Involvement in the process will empower families to impact their own success through goal directed discussions to identify the strategies needed to expedite permanency. This is done through sharing information and brainstorming to enhance the services provided to the child while in out of home care and again to expedite permanency.
An area of concern related to placement stability is multiple school enrollments. Family Team Meetings are expected to lead to more stability in placement which will provide children the opportunity to remain in the same school setting.
Update
The FTM forms have been enhanced to include a closer look at sibling placement and at efforts to place siblings together if they have been separated. A focus has been placed on the need for every child to have frequent Family Team Meetings to improve family participation in decision making. This is being supported through CFSD Permanency Planning staff contacting Child Welfare field staff when a report indicates the child/family has not had an FTM and offering to assist with planning, coordinating and facilitating an FTM.
Bridge
Bridge is a component of the Practice Model that seeks to view practice through the eyes of the child and seeks to ensure that children in care maintain connections to their kin, culture, and community while in out of home care. The goal of OKDHS is to increase the number of resource families to meet the varying needs of children who are placed in out of home care.
The definition of a Bridge Resource Family is a family who may be asked to:
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Provide temporary care, love, and nurturance to the child and serve as a mentor actively helping the parent improve their ability to safely care for his or her children.
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Stay connected and assist in the transition to reunification, legal guardianship, or adoption to another family, and/or
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Serve as the legal guardian for the child while maintaining a child’s connection to kin, culture, and community and/or
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Adopt the child while maintaining a child’s connection to kin, culture, and community.
19By definition, it is clear that the Bridge Model recruits, orients and supports traditional foster families, kin, and adoptive families. There is no distinction in approach. Oklahoma has implemented an assessment process that allows a family to be approved to provide care for children whether it is traditional foster care, kinship care or adoption. This integrated assessment includes both an initial and re-assessment tool to be utilized with all resource families to impact placement stability and time to permanency. OKDHS added a component addressing the protective capacity of resource families to the assessment guide. OKDHS will continue to evaluate the need for developing additional tools. It is anticipated that implementation of this process will reduce maltreatment in out of home care.
OKDHS received a 5-year grant in October 2008 that is funded by the Children’s Bureau. The Bridge to the Future Grant allows Oklahoma to develop and deliver innovative and comprehensive strategies for the diligent recruitment and retention of resource families within the state that reflect the needs, numbers, and characteristics of our children in care, therefore, improving outcomes for Oklahoma’s children. Bridge has several initiatives to accomplish this goal. First, a Resource Support Center was created for pre-resource and resource families. This Support Center aids in delivering a consistent message to interested and existing families, as well as offers families additional community resources and support for answering general, non-child specific questions. In tandem with the support center, we have created a web portal for families that explains Oklahoma’s Bridge family practice, lists community resources, and offers training videos in a convenient and accessible online format. Another aspect of our grant is training for both staff and resource families. An online customer service training was developed for staff that will be mandatory for all child welfare and county level staff that has contact with our customers. For resource families, the focus is on delivering five trainings that were identified as a high need through focus groups and surveys. They are: Psychotropic Medications, Trauma Informed Care, Legal, Intentional Visitation, and Handbook/Contract. Those will be developed in an online and DVD format to increase accessibility. These trainings will also be offered to staff to promote consistency of knowledge and information. To further improve our application/approval process theLean/Six Sigma methodology is being used to pilot additional, potential areas for improvement. The focus has been on communication, the home assessment process, and moving through the approval process at the pace of the family’s readiness (meaning that the plan is to increase our capacity to move families with a high level of readiness through the process as quickly as possible while ensuring that safety is not compromised). A pilot was initiated with traditional foster care and adoption in a metro county, and are currently working with kinship staff and a rural county to expand the pilot. Furthermore, community partnerships are a key component to successful recruitment and retention, and OKDHS continues to build on those partnerships. Collaborated has occurred with the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives on four Faith Based public awareness events in our two largest metropolitan areas and are piloting county specific recruitment materials delivered in faith focused and community focused formats. OKDHS is in the process of developing an Oklahoma specific recruitment and retention tool kit to be used in consultation with counties on developing localized recruitment plans with their community partners, while continuing to develop a consistent statewide plan with technical assistance from AdoptUSKids. Finally, the evaluation team continues to develop survey instruments to collect data on these initiatives as well as mine data from our KIDS database in order to track challenges as well as successes and continue to make adaptations to our efforts as needed.
From January through August 2009, questions were asked of County Directors in all areas across Oklahoma via focus groups conducted during the course of the summer. According to County Directors, the obstacles for families in not becoming foster/adoptive resources, both inside & outside of the system included exhaustive training requirements where parents feel it is unnecessary, slowness in reimbursement and stipend payments, fears of the child and/or biological family, and stringent requirements for families (e.g. number of beds, rooms, etc.). The current strengths of becoming a Bridge Resource Family expressed were: the kinship program, dual licensure processes (fostering and adoption),
20availability of general payments (to be spent on nearly anything the child/family needs), and more comprehensive forms than what was used in prior years. County Directors expressed a need for more comprehensive training for parents on topics such as “coping with grief/separation/loss,” roles of resource family, biological family, and worker, trauma-based care of children, and logistics of navigating the OKDHS system. In regards to training topics for child welfare staff, County Directors expressed a desire to train them on basic customer service and follow-up (good manners, being courteous and prompt), how to better partner with families, information on procedures and policies, and even the same trainings experiences by parents. When an after-hours help desk was suggested as a possible solution to providing better customer service County Directors thought this solution could be useful in supporting parents during the approval process, helping them locate resources within their local counties, providing status updates about applications, etc. In terms of making support groups and mentoring programs work, County Directors suggested providing logistical and financial support for these groups including incentives/prizes for attendance, food, training credits, setting up rooms/meetings, and providing guest speakers.
In July 2009, a survey was sent to current Child Welfare Specialists where 525 responses were given in regards to experiences with customer service, training, and how things are currently working for parents. Respondents indicated that the perceived obstacles limiting families from becoming resources families with OKDHS were due to being overwhelmed with the process or system (23%), personal reasons (17%), and slow reimbursement rates (14%). Training topics that would better prepare parents included: trauma-informed care of children (26%), collaborating with the biological family (18%), and how to experience transitions and role changes (13%). Topics on which Child Welfare Specialists expressed a need for additional training were: how to specifically support resource parents, clarifying roles and responsibilities, conducting initial family meetings, and how to recruit resource families. As far as effective training for Pre-Resource families is concerned, Child Welfare Specialists responded that most would probably prefer the internet, webinars, or computer-based training (34%) or workshops and classroom-based training (33%). In improving customer service, the possible functions that a centralized help-desk could provide for resource families were: support and crisis management for resource parents (25%), receiving initial inquiries and providing support during the approval process (23%), administration of and providing logistics for a formal mentoring program (22%), and performing complaint resolution (14%).
In September 2009, A survey was sent to Current Resource Parents where 156 responses were given in regards to experiences with customer service, training, and the Bridge Program philosophy. The majority of the sample included foster parents or those both fostering and adopting with OKDHS where most parents had spent less than 2 years in a relationship with the agency. Training topics that could have better prepared our parents were how to navigate the OKDHS system as well as legal training and the rights of families. Parents expressed a desire for an after-hours helpdesk (82%), support groups (57%), and mentoring programs (49%) to be provided by OKDHS. Current parents indicated that they would utilize a helpdesk and support/mentoring groups to seek information about county-level services, working through the approval process, and assistance in coping with stress and burnout. The only reservations parents expressed about a helpdesk were the reluctance to ask questions that are child-specific and better answered by a caseworker. Parents prefer computer-based training, DVDs, and small group settings for obtaining their training as resource families.
In October 2009, a survey was sent to current Pre-Resource Parents where 49 responses were given in regards to experiences in the approval process and training. The majority of the sample included those interested in becoming adoptive families (48%), non-kinship foster families (24%), with the remainder interested in kinship care, the Bridge program, and/or combinations of fostering/adoption (16%). Most Pre-Resource parents in the sample had spent more than 3 months in their attempt to become a resource
21parent (62%). Most parents within this sample contacted OKDHS to inquire about fostering or adoption by making contact with a local OKDHS office or using the OKDHS website/email.
Initial follow-up from an inquiry (either an informational packet or a phone call) took anywhere from over 1 month (12%), within 2-4 weeks (21%), within 1-2 weeks (25%), to within 1 week (31%). The training formats parents preferred were computer-based, internet/webinar sessions (18%), large and small group in-class sessions (43%), DVDs (15%), or book/guides (15%). The common strengths identified with the approval process as it stands now were the Bridge Resource Family Orientation training and other training sessions (37%), the home study process(18%), the overall explanation of the Bridge philosophy (14%), and a well-designed information packet (10%). The common weaknesses expressed in the approval process were mainly a lack of communication between OKDHS and families (27%) and families not understanding the process or timelines (18%). At present, over 60% of parents disagreed, strongly disagreed, or were neutral about being satisfied with their customer service experience in the approval process.
OKDHS has identified the need to improve communication within the Child Welfare system and between Child Welfare workers, tribes, and resource families providing care for the children placed in their homes. Enhanced communication will not only assist in identifying areas of concern in the home but will also add needed support for the families involved. OKDHS has recognized that there has been some confusion among Child Welfare workers regarding the difference between alleged policy violations and alleged abuse or neglect in out of home care. It is anticipated that increased communication will clarify this issue along with the centralized hotline.
Oklahoma has implemented a Resource Family Support Center with staff paid by Diligent Recruitment Grant. An Online Customer Service training for Child Welfare staff has been developed. The enhancement of Bridge Portal – all training videos are now available to resource parents and they can access the training assessment they are required to complete. The Bridge Orientation Training is now available with audio. Rapid Improvement events held in Tulsa County focusing on : communication, assessment and resource family readiness. As a result, an Oklahoma specific version of "Answering The Call pocket guide was developed. Supervisor contact information is now included in the Resource Inquiry Packet. Supervisors conducted Customer Service satisfaction phone calls. Collaboration with OKDHS Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives in providing four Faith Based events in the Tulsa and Oklahoma Counties, development of county specific recruitment CD's and a process to provide to counties statewide. County specific data is provided quarterly to assist in recruitment.
Update
Survey’s:
Child Welfare Supervisor Survey
In October 2010, 74 Child Welfare Supervisors across the State of Oklahoma responded to a survey which asked them to rate the level at which their county practices the various components of Bridge in their daily work on a regular basis. Most supervisors came from Area VI (includes Tulsa County). Supervisors indicated that: 66% of Child Welfare Workers in their counties conduct initial meetings (between biological parents and Bridge Resource parents) regularly or fairly often and 67% of staff felt comfortable conducting these meetings; 88% of workers regularly or often communicated to biological and Bridge Resource Parents about intentional visitation. The majority of workers were observed as comfortable with this communication (86%); 73% of workers were aiding in intentional visitation fairly often and 81% were observed as doing regular family group conferencing; 73% of workers enable and encourage Bridge Resource Parents to serve as mentors to the child’s family; 68% of workers use concurrent planning as a practice tool regularly and 81% are comfortable with this concept; 86% of new staff and 84% of Bridge Resource Parents are educated about Bridge/Concurrent Planning as a tool; 60% of transitional meetings with families occur regularly between workers and parents; 88% of Child
22Protective Services Staff, 85% of Permanency Staff, 77% of Resource Staff, and 73% of Administrators were observed as still ongoing in their implementation of Bridge Concurrent Planning and approaches to their daily work and communication; 73% of Child Welfare staff include Bridge Concurrent Planning language that reflects the practice in their court reports often, and 60% of reports were observed as high quality; 54% of Child Welfare Staff believe that their Bridge Resource Parents have a basic understanding of the Bridge Concurrent Planning Philosophy, and 31% of staff believe parents are well-informed.
County Director Recruitment Plan Survey
In October 2010, 35 Child Welfare County Directors across the State of Oklahoma responded to a survey which asked them to indicate their intentions in developing a county-level targeted recruitment plan. This indicates a 45.4% response rate. Most county directors came from Area V (Northeastern Oklahoma Counties – 26%) and Area II (Southwestern Oklahoma Counties – 23%). The survey indicated that: 80% of county supervisors had developed a recruitment and retention plan; 83% of staff within the county were observed by County Directors to understand how the requirements of MEPA-IEP and ICWA guide recruitment of families; 57% of County Directors plan to delegate the development of the plan to a Resource Supervisor or another person in their county, while 43% planned to take the lead in ensuring that the plan is developed; most Resource Supervisors know how to developed a targeted recruitment plan (58%); 91% of County Directors wanted assistance in identifying what reports are needed to begin the process to set goals on their county’s need for Resource Families; 62% of County Directors had a description (demographic and needs) of children in your county to help you identify their recruitment needs, while only 34% indicated wanting assistance in creating the description; 42% of County Directors have communicated the need for development of a recruitment and retention plan been to their community partners and 60% of the communities in counties are aware of the racial and ethnic diversity of the children from your county and the need to have families that reflect the same; 65% of County Directors know what community partners are needed to be part of the team to help recruit and retain families, but only 51% if community partners reflect the diversity of the children in their county and most County Directors did not want Children and Family Services Division to assist in developing and implementing their locally targeted recruitment and retention plans. Comments from County Directors included the need for new ideas and manpower for recruitment, assistance with cultural awareness for minority family recruitment, and the need to use data to inform their plans.
Evaluation of the County-Level Targeted Recruitment Campaign Kickoff – Nov. 2010
A brief event evaluation survey was created to determine the successfulness of a recruitment planning event in November for county directors, child welfare staff, community partners, tribes, and other stakeholders across the state. This instrument was created in conjunction with technical assistance provided, AdoptUsKids, and the NRC. The results indicated that: Most participants were from OKDHS, but 25% were from other organizations, and almost 10% of participants from tribes. Child welfare professionals included supervisors, staff, workers from foster care, adoptions, child welfare field liaisons, therapeutic foster care, where the average years of experience was 11.2 years and these employees ranged from 31 to 60 years, so the represented staff well into their careers; 86% of attendees were female and almost 20 percent were Black, 13 percent were Native American. Over half of attendees held a bachelor’s degree and one third held a graduate degree in areas such as education, sociology, psychology, human relations, but most (19 percent) were trained in social work.; The counties with the highest attendance: Oklahoma, Tulsa, Pittsburg, Pottawatomie, Cleveland, and Garfield representing mostly State Areas III, IV, and VI; 70% agreed that the event provided them with an opportunity to share information with colleagues and taught them new information about recruiting families; 2 out of 3 attendees felt that the information presented corresponded to the needs of their county or organization and most felt the on-site work (small work groups, collaboration, and networking) helped us get closer to meeting our recruitment and retention goals for our state; Most attendees felt (75%) that their county/organization has the resources it needs to begin implementing recruitment and retention strategies based on the event; The
23most helpful sessions included the on-site small group breakout sessions, data sharing, and targeted focus. The least helpful session was on MEPA and Bridge Consultants assisted in facilitating the small group breakout sessions by county and most felt their consultants was prepared, knowledgeable, and effective.
Yearly Process Evaluation Tools – Implementation Status Reports Results
Implementation/process evaluation instruments were distributed to key program staff to measure the core components and activities of the grant yearly basis. The results indicated that: Bridge Support Resource (Call) Center operational for one year and is taking 95% of call-traffic for new pre-resource parents; 1,348 Child Welfare Workers received customer service training; Addressing current challenges to target marketing; Created a strong partnership in the mental health community to inform the upcoming Trauma-Informed Care Training for Families and Staff; The Bridge Web Portal provides good resources for parents and workers are getting positive responses when discussing with resource parents; Conference attendance focusing on engaging grant and community partners provided workers with a better understanding of the need for community partners and how this relates to potential and current families; Considering development of African American, Hispanic and sibling videos to assist with recruitment and training; Bridge Consultants assisted counties in development of recruitment and retention plans; November 2010 Recruitment/Retention Campaign Kickoff was successful with partnership between counties and Bridge Consultants to begin creating recruitment and retention plans and Bridge Inquiry Packets and “The Road” DVDs sent to all individuals inquiring about the program. Staff supervisors also received DVDs. While survey response rates are minimal the majority of responses are positive.
Evaluation of the Customer Service (Bridge) Support Center
Survey instruments were developed to evaluate the progress and effectiveness of the recently launched Bridge Resource Support (Call Center) Center with families, grant leadership, and support center staff. The Bridge Support Center began with a full-time employee in mid-January, receiving 4000+ calls to date from families. A second support center employee was hired during the summer of 2010 and is currently being trained. By way of review, the major functions of the Bridge Support Center include: (1) supporting Pre-Resource Parents through the inquiry process, (2) serving as the liaison between the assigned child welfare worker and the prospective family, (3) providing information on and support for training, (4) updating and maintaining the Bridge Family Resource Portal website http://www.okbridgefamilies.com/ , and (5) supporting current Resource Families with information on community supports in conjunction with the NRC. The results of the survey included: Over 70% of parents indicated that they had received the information they requested and 26% reported receiving follow-up phone calls; The majority of calls are being answered within 3 rings, and emails are being sent in less than 48 hours; Half of parents reported that their Call Center Specialist helped them in establishing contact with their Resource Worker; Most parents agree that the Call Center Staff are concerned about their issues (84.4%) and that they are provided with additional resources (58%). Specifically, 41% of parents were also referred to the Bridge Resource Family Web Portal for more information and nearly half of these parents (45%) accessing the portal; The Call center could improve on following up with parents after finding our answers from the counties; The main topics prompting the call included (Inquiring to become a foster/adoptive parent (64%); Asking about the status of payments (<2%); Policy questions (<2%); Issues during the approval process (<2%); Needing county or worker contact information (<2%)); 42% of families agree that they better understand the responsibilities of a Resource Parent, and 41% feel they better understand the process; Over 80% of parents agree that they are likely to contact the Support Center in the future.
Bridge Resource Support (Call) Center Analysis
Reports of call activities were pulled for the period of Dec. 2010 through March 2011 for the Resource Support (Call) Center. This provides the ability to measure a short-term outcome of the % and # of families accessing personalized support as well as those receiving expedited services (decreasing response
24time). Our caller demographic was identified and learned that: 61% of callers were interested in becoming Bridge homes. 23% were interested in adoption. The majority of callers were calling from one of the county office in Tulsa, Cleveland, or Oklahoma County or State Areas II, III, and VI. Most contacts occur via the internet (83%); The top seven cities of callers (Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Edmond, Broken Arrow, Lawton, Moore and Norman).
Bridge Resource Information/Inquiry Packet and “The Road” DVD Survey Results
This survey was distributed to Pre-resource parents receiving Bridge Resource Family Packets containing informational brochures and a recruitment DVD called “The Road to Fostering/Adoption.” This survey was distributed between January 1, 2011 and April 25, 2011. This is an ongoing project as surveys are being distributed with packets continuously being sent via the Bridge Resource Support (Call) Center staff. 28 responses were received and the data collection will be ongoing. The information surmised at this time is as follows: Most parents agreed that the packet was useful in understanding the Bridge Program for Fostering/Adoption and it answered their questions. Unanswered questions included: costs, choosing children, how parental visitation is handled, length of waiting time, and where to begin the process; The two most beneficial items in the packet were “The Road” DVD and the description of what can be expected of them as a Bridge parent. Although most parents did not watch the entire DVD (62%). 63% of parents did NOT feel comfortable sharing the DVD with others interested in fostering/adoption because they felt it was too long/time-consuming and finally Items requested from parents included: how financial assistance occurs, a list of things to be accomplished in the process, the application, and the exact process of how children are received.
Bridge Resource Parent Withdrawal Survey
This provides the ability to measure another short-term outcome of trying to decrease the number of families who are withdrawing from the process of becoming a Resource Parent. A survery was administered (and it is still ongoing) that measures the reasons why a family withdraws themselves from the application process to become a Bridge/Foster/Adoption parent. This survey revealed that: Most families have their own interest and contacted OKDHS (54%), learned about this opportunity through another current family (11%), learned via the internet (13%), or had a specific child in mind they wanted to help (14%); As parents learned about the Bridge program, most did so using the Bridge Resource Support website (www.okbridgefamilies.com) – 59%, or called the Bridge Resource Support Center (800) 376-9729 – 66%; The majority of parents (37%) indicated withdrawing for personal reasons, could not meet the requirements (12%), only wanted basic info (14%), or were frustrated with the process or OKDHS (7%); For those indicating personal reasons for withdrawal most indicated bad family timing (changes at home, work, illness, etc.). For those frustrated with the process they indicated mostly that it took too long (10%).
Short-Term and Intermediate Outcomes:
Data were pulled from our SACWIS system (KIDS) to determine our performance on the recruitment and retention goals of the grant. From October 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011 there have 4,226 families recruited. These families represent 1,407 “Bridge homes” (committed to concurrent planning practice of possible reunification), 2,251 foster homes, and 559 adoptive homes. Of this total, 427 families have completed pre-service training requirements representing a 43% completion rate. Six-hundred thirty nine (639) families have completed/approved home studies (335 foster homes, 304 adoptive homes).
25New Pre-Resource Families Recruited over Time: October 2008 – March 2011 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Oct 2008 -Apr 2009 -Oct 2009 -Apr 2010 -Oct 2010 -Adoption Foster Care Bridge (Concurrent Planning) Mar 2009 Sept 2009 Mar 2010 Sept 2010 Mar 2011 (4,579) (4,614) (4,462) (4,166) (4,217)
Despite overall recruitment numbers being lower than 2008 totals, we can observe the Bridge Resource Support (Call) Center’s impact of transferring foster and adoptive families into Bridge homes by discussing the Bridge Program of concurrent planning with parents when they inquire (illustrated in the April 2010 – March 2011 bar graphs). The Bridge Resource Support (Call) Center was instituted in February 2010 and has been in operation for about 14 months (as of April 27, 2011). This is evidence of one of our short-term outcomes from our logic model in looking at % and # of people with increased awareness of the Bridge Program.
Total New Pre-Resource Families Recruited by State Area 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Area I Area II Area III Area IV Area V Area VI Oct 2008 -Apr 2009 -Oct 2009 -Apr 2010 -Oct 2010 -Mar 2009 Sept 2009 Mar 2010 Sept 2010 Mar 2011
Area III is comprised of two counties. The first is the most highly populated county in Oklahoma - Oklahoma County (pop. 660,448). The second county in Area III is Canadian County (pop. 109,668). Area I is comprised of the lowest populated county in Oklahoma – Cimarron County (pop. 3,148) - Area VI has Oklahoma’s most densely populated county – Tulsa County (pop. 603,403).
Bridge Parent Customer Service Satisfaction Survey Results At the end of September 2010, a survey was administered electronically via an online survey tool to current Bridge Resource Parents in the state (traditional, kinship, foster and adoption were included). The survey was not administered to a random sample due to very high non-response rates in the past. The survey was administered to all families for whom we had an email address at the time of the survey. Prior to our sending out a survey link to families, we solicited email addresses from families via a postcard mailed to all families where we asked that they please contact us to give us an email address or update the address we have on file so that their voices might be heard. This survey was all about customer satisfaction. The results of this survey will establish our baseline, pre-customer-service training. The survey was emailed to 2643 families and was completed by 549 families.
26This survey was distributed to Current Resource Parents during with a close date of Oct 25, 2010. The total target population was 2,643 emails of current resource families from KIDS and Resource Support (Call) Center data collection across the entire State of Oklahoma. 549 responses were received (a 20.7% response rate).
The demographics of the sample included a wide variety of respondents where a large spectrum of Resource Parents were contacted. Thirty-one and a half percent (31.5%) of resource parents had served 3-5 years, 30.1% served 1-2 years, 14.6% served for 6+ years, and 23.9% served less than a year. Forty-one percent (41.0%) of resource parents were between 21-29 years and 31.5% were between ages 40-49 years. Only 8% of parents were age 60 years and older. Approximately eighty-seven percent (86.9%) of respondents were female. The sample indicated that parents are overall much more educated than the general population. Forty-eight (48.3%) of the sample had completed a college degree or graduate school, and an additional 32.4% completed “some college.” Over eighty percent (80.7%) of the sample identified as White/Caucasian, 10% were African-American, 4.2% were Native American, and 2.2% were Hispanic while the remainder of the sample was comprised of Asians, Africans, and those of mixed (multiple) races. This resembles the racial/ethnic demographic of Oklahoma with the exception of about half as many Native Americans (8.0% according to the 2000 Census Bureau). Seventy-three (73.6%) of the sample indicated being currently married, 21.3% are single, and 3.5% indicated a cohabiting status. Tribal affiliation was also represented for 3.8% or the sample. Most individuals indicating tribal membership identified with the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Seminole tribes. Ninety-eight (98.2%) of the sample speak English as a first language with some members indicating additional languages spoken of American Sign Language, Spanish, and Cherokee.
Families represented the following child welfare groups: Adoption (n=59), Kinship (n= 157), Traditional Foster Care (n=168), Therapeutic Foster Care (n=14), and multiple interest/ involvement (Kinship/Foster/Adopt) (n=151).
Families were asked if, before placement, they had a good understanding of parent expectations and 69% indicated that they did, while 25.9% indicated they did not. They were also asked if they were provided adequate information about their interests and 51.8% agreed or strongly agreed that they did while 36.1% indicated disagreement. Though we often suspect this as a complaint about the process, parents generally agreed or strongly agreed (67.9%) that that were satisfied with the timeless of payments (where applicable) and the delivery method (76.2%).Fifty-one percent (51.2%) of parents agreed that their worker included them and their experiences with the child into consideration when making decisions about his or her future during the process and only 31.3% of parents declared that they felt involved in the transition plan used when the child left their home. Fifty-four percent (54.6%) of parents indicated that their worker recognized their contributions and achievements as a Bridge Resource Parent and 54.8% felt comfortable that future placement decisions will not be impacted if they told their worker about problems with their current child placement.
As far as communication is concerned, 56.5% of parents indicated that their Resource Specialist returns their phone calls regularly or at least sometimes (23.5%). Almost 1 out of ten parents (9.7%) responded that their phone calls are rarely returned or not returned at all. Child Welfare Specialists performed slightly different in that 51.7% of parents responded that phone calls were returned regularly and 12% of parents rarely or do not at all receive returned phone calls. Parents also responded on the accessibility of the Resource Support Center (1-800-376-9729) indicating that it was regularly easy to access (52.1%) and 14.8% indicated that it was rarely or not at all accessible.
Parents provided a variety of responses in regards to their relationship with their Resource Specialist. Over half of parents (52.6%) indicated that the relationship is consistently positive with their Resource Specialist. Fifty percent (50.3%) of parents indicated that the relationship is consistently positive with their Child Welfare Specialist. Forty-seven percent (47.5%) felt regularly respected by their assigned workers overall while 12.4% felt rarely or not at all respected. Forty-five (45.7%) of parents felt their assigned workers provided regular and adequate support and assistance with visitation with their child's parents and siblings. Almost two out of three of parents (59%) felt comfortable telling their assigned workers about problems they had with the children in their home for whom they are caring. Fifty-five
27(55.9%) of parents responded that their assigned workers schedule meetings at times that are convenient for them.
Concerning respite care, less than half of Resource Parents know how to access available respite care (44.6%), and only 26.2% of parents indicated it was regularly adequate care for them. Many more results will be forthcoming with more in-depth analyses that examine parent satisfaction within different racial/ethnic groups, tribes, resource type (adoption/foster/kinship), others. The findings will be widely shared at the upcoming Nov. 2 Recruitment and Retention Campaign Kickoff with County Directors, community partners, tribal representatives and other stakeholders.
Significant Findings and Events
Significant Events
These include the Recruitment and Retention Campaign Kickoff event, attending area meetings to discuss grant activities, the collaboration with the tribal recruitment and retention subcommittee, and planning meetings for a faith-based statewide awareness campaign, and a focused Oklahoma City metropolitan recruitment campaign.
Dissemination Activities
Dissemination with Internal Partners
Grant activities have continued to be shared internally through a variety of ways. The grant sends out a quarterly newsletter on grant activities. In addition, the project manager has attended area meetings to share and field questions from the localized staff. Bridge Leadership meetings have continued to be held monthly, and Bridge Consultants were created as a subset of this group to aid in sharing information about Bridge the grant as well as how to implement Bridge, Oklahoma’s approach to child welfare and those have continued as a part of Bridge Leadership. The Data and Evaluation Team has been created to make sure that we keep a focus on data and evaluation throughout the life of the project. A reexamination of roles and committees is being conducted currently.
Dissemination with External Partners
A short video was created to be shown at the Department of Human Services Commission Meeting. Community partnerships are being explored. For example, the grant is currently in the process of designing a sticker that can be used by Sonic for all of their receipts. The project manager is in contact with Sonic corporate about the possibility of a multi-year, phased-in recruitment campaign. We continue to work with faith-based partners that are conducting their own efforts around recruitment and retention. We have also been involved in attending the state tribal workgroup. Additional brainstorming and planning for a community outreach effort is in the works.
Several abstracts and presentation proposals were submitted for dissemination opportunities during this six month period. The project manager and lead evaluator will present at the annual Pathways conference put on by the National Resource for Youth Services.
The evaluation team submitted proposals in November 2010 for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), for the 14th Annual Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference (June 2011 - Washington, DC). One submission will disseminate the results of the county-level recruitment planning occurring in early Year Three entitled, “Bridging the Gap: County Level, Targeted Recruitment of Bridge Resource Families in Oklahoma.”
A presentation was given at the Annual DR conference to Cluster 2.
28Other Activities
Other Activities
Submitted a business need proposal to our communications department to begin utilizing social media for recruitment and retention.
Technical Assistance
Submitted Technical Assistance request for Market Segmentation and have been working with AdoptUSKids on the request. In the process of authoring an RFP for marketing services.
Participate in relevant webinars as they are available.
Grant Compliance
Attended DR Grantee Meeting in Washington, D.C. March 21-23, 2011.
Carryover request of Year 2 funds completed in March 2011.
Activities Planned for Next Reporting Period
Continued Activities
Continue to provide data dashboards
Continue to collaborate and share information with all stakeholders
Provide logistical support for support and mentoring groups within the counties
Continue to use the process improvement projects in pilot counties to identify opportunities for improvement and to implement potential solutions
Continue to collaborate with the faith-based campaign
Continue national partnerships with One Church, One Child and AdoptUSKids, and states with which we have adoption service agreements
Continue to provide support through the resource support center to prospective families through the initial conversation, inquiry packet, and assigned follow up contacts and to current families through the use of surveys to families that have withdrawn from the process, general information on training opportunities and resources, updates to the web portal and ensuring its accuracy at all times, research of best practices, and contacts entered into the KIDS database
Continue to support collaborative, community based work in the counties by providing information and tools to counties to support a systematic focus on recruitment and retention needs.
Evaluation Activities
Mentoring and Support Groups – The Bridge Leadership team is planning on utilizing training clusters and our Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to work on forming organic support groups of parents who experience pre-service training together.
Evaluation of the Bridge Resource Family Portal Website
Survey instruments are also currently under development to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bridge Family Portal website: http://www.okbridgefamilies.com/ . The website currently provides: an overview
29of what Bridge Families do, the Bridge Family Orientation training, FAQs for the Bridge philosophy, family support resources, useful forms, Bridge Family stories, Bridge best practices and principles, and videos/resources on foster care and adoption.
Regression Analyses
We plan to use our SACWIS data to test the relationships between having contact with our Resource Support (Call) Center and the likelihood of being an approved home for all the different family types we need versus those families that are assisted in other ways (coming into a county office, internet, events, etc.).
Enhanced Visitation Model
The frequency and consistency of visitation is a foundational component of the OKDHS Practice Model. As research suggests, parents cannot be expected to improve parenting practices, maintain bonds with their children, and improve the quality of their parent-child interaction when visits are infrequent. Logically, for frequent visitation to occur, children must be placed in close proximity to the birth family. OKDHS must provide assistance to support the visitation process.
The visitation plan serves as an agreement between OKDHS, the child in placement and the child’s family. It structures visits, logistics, necessary tasks, and roles and responsibilities of placement caregivers, family members, and agency staff. A written plan reassures children and their families that the agency is invested in protecting family relationships. It also identifies possible consequences should the plan not be followed. Research on parental visiting of children in foster care indicates a strong relationship between the development of a visitation plan and actual visitation by parents. Social worker attitudes and behaviors that encourage visitation also have a positive influence on the quality and frequency of parent visitation.
OKDHS plans to utilize an enhanced visitation model in ten select counties. These sites will conduct a self-assessment, identifying areas of strength and those needing improvement, to be addressed as part of the county program improvement plan. Training will be provided to these CW staff regarding the visitation protocol. The outcomes of this plan will be utilized to identify the resources necessary for statewide implementation.
We believe the implementation of an enhanced model of visitation will positively affect placement stability, consistency in attaining the goal of reunification, maintaining connections, strengthening parent child relationships, sibling placements, and school stability.
More frequent and positive visitation with parents should improve the child’s adjustment in placement and reduce problematic behavior over time, potentially having a positive effect on stability of placement as well as reunification outcomes. Placement stability will also impact school stability.
A dedicated staff member will track separated siblings, identify sibling visitation issues, and send data to the counties monthly. This individual will also track successes of individual units/counties/areas in supporting sibling relationships and provide technical assistance in an effort to replicate promising practices.
Resource families are an integral part of planning visitation. The implementation of Bridge will go hand in hand with the enhanced visitation model as the resource families facilitate and support these visits. The relationship that develops between the birth and Bridge families should positively impact placement stability.
Update
30Rose Wentz provided Training of Trainers on family visitation February 28 and March 1, 2011 through the NRCPFC. Following that training a small workgroup met to develop curriculum changes that would fit the program for Oklahoma. Area III staff that participated in the TOT will be providing training for their child welfare workers and supervisors. The CFSD training unit has allotted October 10th and 11th, 2011 for the first training for Intentional Visitation with open enrollment for CW staff. The plan for providing the training to all CW staff is still being discussed.
Functional Assessment and Behaviorally Based Service Planning
Assessment is the process of gathering information that will support service planning and decision making regarding the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families. It begins with the first contact with a family and continues until the case is closed. Assessment is based on the assumption that for services to be relevant and effective, workers must systematically gather information and continuously evaluate the needs of children and parents/caregivers as well as the ability of family members to use their strengths to address their problems.
A Family Functional Assessment is a “process,” not the completion of a “tool.” This does not mean that tools are superfluous; they are helpful in documenting needs or in stimulating the conversation about assessment issues. It does mean, however, that the engagement of family members in a discussion that is individualized to their situation is vital. Simply completing a form will not capture all that is needed for a comprehensive family functional assessment.
The goal of safety and risk assessment is to determine if children are unsafe or at risk of abuse and neglect, and if child protective services are required. Once a decision has been made to open a case for services, regardless of whether or not the child is placed in out of home care, a Family Functional Assessment is undertaken as part of the development of a service plan. When OKDHS is responsible for serving the family, a functional assessment is critical to determine how to best serve the family and impact child safety, permanency, and well-being.
The new Functional Assessment tool provides a guide for enhanced assessment of the unique needs of families with children in state or tribal custody and those intact families whose children’s safety is threatened. Specific areas included in the tool are the assessment of physical, emotional, developmental, and educational/vocational needs, as well as any issues related to substance abuse. An enhanced assessment of need provides the foundation for locating the most appropriate placement in a timely manner.
Adequately assessing and meeting needs of parents, involvement of parents and children in case planning and lack of sufficient contact with parents by the CW worker are areas that the new Functional Assessment tool will address. This will be accomplished through in-depth discussions with and identification of needs for families, particularly those that relate to safety of children. The Contact Guide directs ongoing discussions with parents during monthly worker visits.
The new Functional Assessment tool provides more specific direction on assessment of and service planning for any identified educational needs. School stability will be affected by this strategy, through enhanced placement stability as many school changes occur as a result of change in placement.
Update
KIDS plans to have the Family Functional Assessment included in the September, 2011 KIDS release The workgroup that is reviewing the AOCS will also be looking at the FFA to determine if the tools can be merged into one for the purpose of ongoing assessments of safety and functioning of children and families. All of the Permanency Planning CORE level 1 and 2 trainings have been updated to allow staff opportunities to use critical thinking skills in assessing family functioning with practice case scenarios.
31A request for technical assistance through the NRCCP was approved regarding developing behaviorally based individualized service plans. The consultant originally assigned is retiring, therefore a new consultant has been assigned and will be presenting during a break out session at the 2011 Statewide Child Welfare Supervisors’ meeting in June 2011. While this new consultant is in Oklahoma for the Statewide Child Welfare Supervisors’ meeting, the workgroup will meet with her to discuss on-going plans.
Concurrent Planning
Concurrent Planning holds promise for expediting timely decision-making for children as a result of its dual focus on family reunification and planning for alternative permanency options. Effective use of Concurrent Planning includes the respectful involvement of parents and family members early in the planning process, as well as identification of any Poor Prognosis Indicators that might serve as barriers to timely reunification or another permanency outcome.
The goals of concurrent planning include:
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Striving to provide children with stable, safe, and permanent families.
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Ensuring family and community-centered practice in least restrictive placement settings.
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Ensuring culturally responsive practice.
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Facilitating an open and inclusive case planning process.
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Providing goal-focused and time-limited services.
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Conducting frequent and regular case reviews of children's status and family progress toward reaching safety, permanency, and well-being goals.
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Encouraging frequent parent-child visits to increase likelihood of early reunification.
OKDHS plans to revise and clarify the concurrent planning process and anticipates this will positively affect establishing permanency goals in a timely manner, attaining permanency goals timely, achieving adoptions timely, and ensuring long-term placement. Oklahoma is narrowing the focus of concurrent planning through identification of poor prognosis factors for reunification, as well as requiring documented concurrent planning activities when a concurrent goal is appropriate. Implementation of active concurrent planning should impact these issues through more expedient identification of appropriate goals and steps to permanency, including steps to identify appropriate alternative permanency plans when a poor prognosis for reunification exists.
Update
On-going work with concurrent planning practices is provided through the use of Family Team Meetings and Permanency Roundtables. Both of these activities are focused on helping children achieve timely permanency, which includes a review of the Poor Prognosis Indicators. This information has been enhanced in the Permanency Planning CORE Level 1 and 2 training sessions to reinforce the need for early and periodic assessment for timely permanency. Oklahoma has three types of funded guardianships. The first is supported permanency using TANF funds, the second is Title IV-E funded guardianship and the third is a state funded program for those rare cases that guardianship is in the best interest of the child(ren), but the inability to meet the requirements of the other two programs, hinders the family’s ability to obtain guardianship.
32SERVICE IMPROVEMENT GOALS and OBJECTIVES
The following goals and objectives are built around the goals established in the State’s Program Improvement Plan as a result of the second round CFSR conducted in August of 2007. This plan seeks to further increase the responsiveness and effect of services provided to children and families through establishment of increasingly aggressive expectations. Data analysis of safety measures and permanency composite were complied from 04-01-10 through 03-31-11 to correspond with quarterly year rolling data collection.
National Standards Data Composites Measurement Plan
Measure
Objective
National Standar d
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
Child Safety Measure IV
Absence of Maltreatment Recurrence
94.6%
90.6%
91.1%
91.1%
93.8%
Performance on this composite exceeded the PIP, Goal Objectives and Baseline; however, is below the National Standard. Oklahoma is focused on working with families that are unsafe to prevent future maltreatment. This has been a somewhat new approach for Oklahoma. The Assessment of child safety is being used as an evidenced based approach. Training and policy updates continue to support the field in developing habits for best practice.
Child Safety Measure VII
Absence of Child Abuse and/or Neglect in Foster Care (12 months)
99.68%
98.78%
98.88%
98.88%
99.21 (FFY2010)
Performance on this composite exceeded the PIP, Goal Objectives and Baseline; however, is below the National Standard. Oklahoma is reviewing and refining the processes in which alleged abuse/neglect in out of home care is managed. Technical assistance has been helpful in policy and decision making around the investigation piece and the follow up with the resource worker. Currently changes to the KIDS system are underway to support the proposed changes in policy and use of the assessment of child safety in foster and pre-adoptive families.
Permanency Composite 1
Timeliness and Permanency of Reunification.
122.6
114.7
118.0
118.0
112.7
Performance on this composite is below baseline, objective, and national standard. However, this result is believed to be affected by a significant reduction of children entering out-of- home care.
33Measure
Objective
National Standar d
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
Oklahoma has developed joint response protocols with local law enforcement agencies to increase the number of children who can safely be placed with relatives or other individuals chosen by the parent during the assessment of the children’s safety rather than placing the children in OKDHS custody. In addition, Oklahoma is currently involved in two initiatives, Permanency Roundtables and the Four Disciplines of Execution. Both include emphasis on the safe reunification of children. These initiatives are anticipated to have an impact on this performance in the future.
Permanency Composite 2
Timeliness of Adoptions
106.4
107.1
107.1
106.4
127.1
Performance on this composite exceeded the baseline, the current goal and the National Standard. The existence of dedicated adoption staff who work as consultants with permanency planning staff are believed to have contributed to this progress. During this last year, a meetings were held in each area and in each of the metro area breakout counties between the adoption and Permanency Planning supervisors to discuss the progress toward permanency for the children in an identified placement with a permanency plan of adoption. These meetings created both partnerships and ownership as the barriers were discussed and responsibilities were clarified regarding the steps needed to finalize the adoption. In addition, the Integrated Bridge family assessment continues to have an impact. The integrated assessment reduced the need to convert home assessments from foster care to adoption thereby, streamlining the process.
Permanency Composite 3
Achieving Permanency for Children in Foster Care for Long Periods of Time
121.7
110.4
113.5
113.5
107.5
Performance on this composite is below baseline, objective and the national standard. The impact on performance is believed to be related to Oklahoma’s continued emphasis on permanency for children
34Measure
Objective
National Standar d
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
based upon the elements of the Practice Model and Practice Standards that focus CW staff actions on diligent search and family involvement and Permanency Roundtables. As a result, Oklahoma has seen a reduction in the number of children who have been removed from their homes between 24 and 59 months since calendar year 2010. Oklahoma anticipates that the numbers of children in out of home care will continue to decrease as result of Permanency Roundtables and the Four Disciplines of Execution.
Permanency Composite 4
Placement Stability
101.5
72.0
74.2
74.2
73.3
Performance on this composite exceeded the baseline but was below the current objective. Performance remains below the national standard. Oklahoma continues to evaluate our performance on this measure. The federal grant that is attached to the two OKDHS owned shelters in Tulsa and Oklahoma Counties has shown an influence on placement with kin earlier in the process and in turn decrease the number of placements children experience. Oklahoma is participating in a Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) utilizing trauma informed child welfare practice to improve placement stability through the NCTSN in one of the Child Welfare units in Tulsa County. Lessons learned from the BSC on positive impacts to placement stability will be expanded statewide. Technical assistance from the National Center for Data and Technology is being utilized to assist Oklahoma in increasing knowledge in the analysis of the current data related to placement stability. Oklahoma believes that current practice may have improved for children entering care which has resulted in children in care longer with placement moves in the past impacting the measure. This hypothesis will also be evaluated through the technical assistance.
3536Item-Specific and Quantitative Measurement Plan
Measure
Objective
Performanc e on Final CFSR Report
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
Safety Outcome 1 Item 1
Timeliness of initiating investigations of reports of child maltreatment
83%
65%
67.4%
67.4%
70%
Performance on this composite exceeded the PIP, Goal Objectives and Baseline; however, is below the National Standard. With the implementation of the practice model and assessment of child safety, child welfare staffs have been on a learning curve to implement and maintain the use practice. The average response time for all reports holds consistently at 4.5 days.
Safety Outcome 2 Item 3
Services to family to protect child(ren) in the home and prevent removal or re-entry into foster care
81%
73%
75.9%
75.9%
74%
Performance on this composite is below the PIP objectives, Goal Objectives and the National Standard; however, above the baseline. Documentation is increasing around the work field staff do to provide services to families in their own homes. Family centered services policy is currently being reviewed and refined to assist staff in evaluating safety. The policy will also assist in determining the most effective intervention strategy.
Safety Outcome 2 Item 4
Risk assessment and safety management
71%
54%
55.5%
55.5%
61%
Performance on this composite exceeded the PIP, Goal Objectives and Baseline; however, is below the National Standard. The assessment of child safety is being utilized in every assigned report in Oklahoma. Child Welfare Staff are becoming more comfortable in utilizing this practice as well as completing the tool and evaluating safety resulting in a positive trend for this measure. Oklahoma continues to review national information and input from Casey family services to improve the positive changes already in place.
37Measure
Objective
Performanc e on Final CFSR Report
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
Permanency Outcome 1 Item 7
Permanency goal for child
59%
44%
47.7%
47.7%
70%
Performance on this measure exceeds the target goal and performance on the federal CFSR. Oklahoma continues to believe that this performance improvement is related to the reduction of children in out-of-home care, a decrease in caseload size for staff, Bridge resource homes who are involved in working with the families, and an emphasis on family team meetings.
Permanency Outcome 1 Item 9
Adoption
25%
25%
29.5%
29.5%
42%
Performance on this measure exceeded the baseline, the current goal and the CFSR report. The existence of dedicated adoption staff who work as consultants with permanency planning staff are believed to have contributed to this progress. During this last year, several meetings were held in each area and in each of the metro area breakout counties between the adoption and Permanency Planning supervisors to discuss the progress toward permanency for the children in an identified placement with a permanency plan of adoption. These meetings continue to create both partnerships and ownership as the barriers were discussed and responsibilities were clarified regarding the steps needed to finalize the adoption. In addition, utilizing the Integrated Bridge family assessment continues to have an impact by reducing the need to convert home assessments from foster care to adoption, thereby, streamlining a step in the process.
Permanency Outcome 1 Item 10
Other planned permanent living arrangement
75%
50%
62.1%
62.1%
71%
Performance on this measure exceeds the baseline, PIP, and current objective. Although performance is below the performance on the federal CFSR, Oklahoma has had significant improvement since the baseline was established. Practice Model components related to a Permanency Pact that formalizes the relationship between the youth and
38Measure
Objective
Performanc e on Final CFSR Report
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
the placement provider when the youth’s plan is to remain in out-of-home care, family team meetings, and Bridge resource parents, .are believed to have had an impact on this measure.
Well Being Outcome 1 Item 17
Needs and services of children, parents, and foster parents
59%
57%
60.3%
60.3%
61%
Performance for this measure exceeds the baseline objective, and performance on the federal CFSR. The reduction of children in out-of-home care and the size of workers caseloads is believed to have had a positive impact on this measure. The Practice Model component, the new family functional assessment, is also believed to have had a positive influence on assessing needs.
Well Being Outcome 1 Item 18
Child and family involvement in case planning
62%
58%
61.3%
61.3%
62%
Performance on this measure exceeded the baseline, PIP objective, current objective and equals the performance on the federal CFSR. Improvement on performance is believed to be due to Oklahoma’s continued emphasis on permanency for children based upon the elements of the Practice Model and Practice Standards that encourages and engages CW staff to explore diligent search and family involvement (Family Team Meetings). Family Team meetings early on in the case has been identified as one of the Wildly Important Goals for the Four Disciplines of Execution that a county can choose to focus on during this next year. The efforts related to improving this goal are anticipated to have a positive impact on this measure in the future.
Well Being Outcome 1 Item 19
Caseworker visits with child
92%
82%
84.5%
84.5%
80%
Performance on this measure is below the baseline, PIP objective, current objective, and performance on the federal CFSR. Oklahoma believes that the performance on this standard is related to Practice Model implementation that has resulted in more in-home cases being opened by OKDHS. The scores
39Measure
Objective
Performanc e on Final CFSR Report
Base Line
PIP Goal/ Objectiv e
Current Goal/ Objectiv e
2011 Results
(04-01-2010 to 3-31-2011)
Discussion
for in-home cases have decreased from 67% to 61% between the last two years. The decrease in scores has been attributed to CW staff’s understanding of the policy regarding the number of contacts required and for in-home visitation. There have been some delays between the development of the safety plan to assignment of a Family Centered Services worker. The CFSR reviews are able to capture if there is a trend in a case for contacts that are occurring over 31 days or if an initial (2 week) or subsequent visit was missed during a critical time in the case.
Well BeingOutcome 1 Item 20
Worker visits with parents
39%
41%
44.5%
44.5%
45%
Performance on this measure has exceeded the baseline, PIP objective, current objective. Performance equals that of the federal CFSR. Improvement on performance is believed to be due to Oklahoma’s continued emphasis on permanency for children based upon the elements of the Practice Model and Practice Standards that encourages and engages CW staff to build and maintain relationships with custodial and non-custodial parents (Family Team Meetings). Increasing worker and parent contact has been identified as one of the Wildly Important Goals for the Four Disciplines of Execution that a county can choose to focus on during this next year. The efforts related to improving this goal are anticipated to have a positive impact on this measure in the future.
40Strategies and Steps Influencing Systemic Factors
Case Review System
The State of Oklahoma is in the process of addressing court related issues regarding cooperation and communication between all parties to improve safety, permanency, and well-being issues for children and families. On May 21, 2009, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed House Bill 2028. It is arguably the most dramatic piece of Oklahoma child welfar